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(E ROYAL FUSILIERS
N THE GREAT WAR

^£.?ffirJ-v;"i

. C. O'NEILL

■

THE ROYAL FUSILIERS
IN THE GREAT WAR

H. C. O'NEILL, O.B.E.

ILLUSTRATED

LONDON- WILLIAM HEINEMANN

Dedicated

HIS MAJESTY'S GRACIOUS PERMISSION

KING GEORGE V.

Colonel-in-Chief, Royal Fusiliers

PREFACE

To the army the subordinate armies are the units ; to
the sectional armies, the army corps ; to the army corps,
the divisions ; to the divisions, the brigades ; to the
brigades, the battalions. Only when we reach the
battalions does the full incidence rest upon the companies
and the individuals who compose them. It is this that
constitutes the main difficulty of writing a regimental
history. In a regiment a private or N. CO. is not X Y Z
123456, but " that bandy-legged little chap who played
the fiddle," a distinct and quite human personality.
It is the human side of war that is uppermost. But the
historian cannot on these grounds excuse himself from
dealing with the military framework into which these men
fitted. The stress falls in this, as in the more personal
side of the war, upon detail. If regimental histories were
all written with a perfect knowledge of detail, the history
of the war would be made supremely easy for those who
have to deal with operations in their larger aspect.

But in the case of the Royal Fusiliers the historian is
faced with the task of dealing with 235,476 men who
fought in every theatre, except Mesopotamia, put in an
appearance at almost every considerable battle of the war,
and whose dead numbered 21,941. The problem of dealing
with the history of these battalions in the space has been
extremely difficult, and I have been reluctantly compelled
to adopt a compromise. The complete story could not be
told in all its detail. On the other hand, the purely military
narrative which makes the more irresistible challenge to
my mind might have been concentrated, but it would
have tended to be lifeless. I have attempted to meet
both claims by dealing with every engagement that
seemed to deserve notice as correctly and completely as

viii PREFACE

possible, while singling out incidents appealing to me as
more significant. In the final resort some loss of per-
spective and some injustice are inevitable. But injustice
is inevitable on any plan. In this laborious, though
fascinating, inquiry I have been struck by nothing so
much as the terrible disproportion and fundamental
injustice of the awards.

Take, for instance, the one case of the landing of the
2nd Battalion Royal Fusiliers in Gallipoli, which so far
has not been justly appreciated. The tardy recognition
that came to the battalion came so late that many whose
work should have been recognised had fallen, and only
the Victoria Cross is given posthumously. Many, of
course, fell on the day of the landing ; but many more
had passed away before recognition came to the survivors.
One or two regiments were seen to fall in heroic action, and
their story ran on every one's lips. But other men quite
as heroic fell unmarked, frequently unnoticed, by their
fellows, and sympathetic friends try to soothe wounded
hearts at home by recollections which are frequently found
to be incompatible. If I were asked to say what incident
in the three landings in Gallipoli,] "X," " W " and " Y,"
appealed most to me, I should say with little hesitation
it was the stand of the gallant company (" X ") of the
Royal Fusiliers under Captain Leslie on the left of the
" X " beach. The company dwindled to a platoon in the
day's fighting. Leslie himself fell. But he held off the
repeated onslaughts of the Turks, protected the landing
of the 87th Brigade, and made possible that swift march
to the right that secured elbow-room for the Lancashire
landing.

My story therefore is probably not more unjust than in
any case it must have been. It is impossible here to set
down all the books I have consulted. I have read all I
knew to be published. It is also impossible to thank all
who have helped me. Without the help of Generals
Donald and Newenham I could not have made much
headway, and I have received the most generous help

PREFACE ix

from all to whom I have appealed, from Colonel W. Hill,
Lieut. -Colonel T. R. Mallock, and Lieut.-Colonel Malone,
especially. As it was wholly impossible within the space
to do full justice to the personal side of the story, a long
appendix has been devoted to accounts of soldiers who
actually took part in the various operations. I must
thank those who have kindly allowed me to use their
contributions. I have also to thank Captain Gibson, of
the Infantry Records Office, and Mr. A. E. Dixon, of the
Committee of Imperial Defence, for bearing with an
ambitious and continuous series of demands.

But, of course, the responsibility for the book is wholly
mine, and I trust it is not altogether an unworthy tribute
to the war record of the Royal Fusiliers.

H. C. O'N.

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. Reveille ....... i

II. First Battles— Mons to the Aisne . . 33

III. Flanders— La Bassee, Armentieres, Ypres 51

IV. The First Spring Campaign— Neuve Cha-

pelle, Ypres 64

V. The Summer Operations— Loos ... 76

VI. The Great Adventure — Gallipoli . . 86

VII. The Battle of the Somme. . . . 109

VIII. The German Retreat and the Battle of

Arras ....... 152

IX. The Battle of Messines .... 175

X. The Third Battle of Ypres . . .182

XL The Battle of Cambrai .... 205

XII. Interlude 220

XIII. The German Offensive .... 230

XIV. Salonika 261

XV. East Africa 269

XVI. The Hundred Days — First Battles . . 281

XVII. The Hundred Days— Last Battles . . 311

APPENDIX.

The Roll of Honour 337

Decorations awarded to the Royal Fusiliers . 358

Xll

CONTENTS

General Officers ....
The Battle of Le Cateau
The Landing at Gallipoli
Description of the Flood at Gallipoli
"No. 8 Platoon" ....

The Somme

Recollections of Miraumont

The 2oth Battalion visit the Coast

Bourlon Wood and after

Life in the Lines (February to March

1918)

PAGE

359

365

367

37i

374
386

39°

393

401

4°3

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACING
PAGE

King George V. . . Frontispiece.

Major-General Sir Geoffry Barton, K.C.V.O.,

C.B., C.M.G., Colonel of the Royal Fusiliers . 10

Corporal G. Jarratt, V.C., 8th Royal Fusiliers . 24

Sergeant S. G. Pearse, V.C., M.M., 45TH Royal

Fusiliers 24

Brig.-General N. R. McMahon, D.S.O. ... 34

Lieutenant M. J. Dease, V.C., 4TH Battalion . 38

Major-General Sir Reginald Pinney, K.C.B. . 64

H.M.S. Implacable with the 2nd Royal Fusiliers

approaching " X " Beach, Gallipoli . . 86

The 2nd Royal Fusiliers at the top of the Cliff,

" X " Beach, Gallipoli 88

Brig.-General H. E. B. Newenham, C.B. . . 92

Major-General Sir W. B. Hickie, K.C.B. . . no

Lance-Sergeant (later Lieutenant) F. W. Palmer,

V.C., 22ND Royal Fusiliers .... 156

Private S. F. Godley, V.C., 4TH Royal Fusiliers. 156

Lance-Corporal C. G. Robertson, V.C., M.M., ioth

Royal Fusiliers 198

Sergeant Molyneux, V.C., 2nd Royal Fusiliers . 198

Lieut. -Colonel N. B. Elliott-Cooper, V.C., D.S.O.,

M.C. 212

XIV

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Captain R. Gee, V.C., M.P

Captain W. N. Stone, V.C., 17TH Royal Fusiliers
Lieutenant W. Dartnell, V.C., 25TH Royal Fusi

LIL*I\S •••••••

Major-General Sir Sydney Lawford, K.C.B.

Major-General Sir Charles Townshend, K.C.B
D.S.O., M.P

FACING
PAGE

214
2l6

2l6
280

310

MAPS.

Map to illustrate the Battle of the Somme . 151

Map to illustrate the Fighting about Ypres . 204

Sketch Map of German East Africa . . . 273

Map to illustrate the Stages in the Fighting of

the Hundred Days ...... 336

THE ROYAL FUSILIERS IN
THE GREAT WAR

CHAPTER I

REVEILLE

At the outbreak of the war there were four regular and
three special reserve battalions of Royal Fusiliers, besides
the first four (City of London) battalions, the London
Regiment (Territorials), who are affiliated to the regiment.
Before the armistice forty-five battalions had been raised,
thirty-five of which served overseas ; the Territorial
battalions had thrown off numerous duplicates, and there
had been formed the ioth Cadet Battalion, also a Royal
Fusiliers unit. Omitting the last mentioned, there were
formed in all before the armistice fifty-nine Royal
Fusilier battalions.

Even so summary a survey gives one pause. It is
obvious that already more battalions have been enu-
merated than took part in the first battle of the British
Expeditionary Force ; and the regiment does not diminish,
but grows, as the inquiry into its numbers and services is
prosecuted. At the battle of the Somme there were a
greater number of Royal Fusiliers engaged in France than
the total allied force at Inkerman. The depot dealt with
a body of men (153,000) exceeding the whole of the
original Expeditionary Force, and although not all of them
were necessarily drafted to the regiment, the total number
of Royal Fusiliers must have exceeded the total number of
combatants in any of the great battles of the nineteenth
century, with the exception, perhaps, of half a dozen.

It is a difficult matter to give the exact number of men

F. B

2 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

who passed through the regiment during the war.* Clearly
the number was very considerable. Apart from the City
of London Regiment, a rough f estimate would give about
195,000. This may be taken, at any rate, as a first
approximation. The 29th Londons numbered about 3,681,
and the 30th about 2,807. ^ we a^d these and also the
number attributable to the 1st (c. 9,408), 2nd (c. 8,133),
3rd (c. 9,199), and 4th (c. 7,248) Londons, we get a total
of 235,476 men who wore the badge of the Royal Fusiliers
during the war. It is a great number ; and, even with the
changed regard for numbers which the war insensibly
produced, it is impossible to think of it but as amazing.

So great is the roll of the regiment that it may be taken
to be the British Army, or indeed the British race, in little.
If you seek men of leisure, you may find them here ; if
sportsmen, here they are ; if bankers, accountants, stock-
brokers, lawyers, men of science, administrators, poets,
writers or 100,000 cockneys grousing in a characteristically
hearty manner and concealing a wealth of heroism and
kindliness under a proper protective irony — here they are.
In fine, here is the British race in frieze and fustian.

*p *J* *n 1*

It will be useful to assemble the battalions in summary
form.

Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers during the Great

War.

1st.

Regular.

2nd.

Regular.

3rd.

Regular.

4th.

Regular.

5th.

Reserve (Dover).

6th.

Reserve (Dover).

7th.

Special Reserve, France, 23/7/16.

8th.

Service.

9th.

Service.

* The war is taken as having ended on November nth, 1918

f This estimate is called " rough " because it is difficult to determine

its precise accuracy. But it is given only after a very careful survey

with the help of the Records Office.

NUMBER OF BATTALIONS 3

10th. (Stockbrokers.)

10th (b) (Intelligence Corps.)

nth. Service.

12th. Service.

13th. Service.

14th. Training, later 31st Training Reserve Battalion.

15th. Training, later 32nd Training Reserve Battalion.

16th. Training, later 22nd Training Reserve Battalion.

17th. (Empire.)

18th. (1st Public Schools.)

19th. (2nd Public Schools.)

20th. (3rd Public Schools.)

21st. (4th Public Schools.)

22nd. (Kensington.)

23rd. (1st Sportsman's.)

24th. (2nd Sportsman's.)

25th. (Frontiersmen.)

26th. (Bankers.)

27th. Training Reserve, later 103rd Training Reserve

Battalion.
28th. Training Reserve, later 104th Training Reserve

Battalion.
29th. Training Reserve, later 105th Training Reserve

Battalion.
30th. Training Reserve, later 106th Training Reserve

Battalion, then 459th Infantry Battalion, then

51st Young Soldiers' Battalion.
31st. Training Reserve, later 107th Training Reserve

Battalion, then 265th Infantry Battalion, then

52nd Young Soldiers' Battalion.

32nd. Service (East Ham).

33rd. Labour.

34th. Labour.

35th. Labour.

36th. Labour.

37th. Labour.

38th. (Jewish.)

39th. (Jewish.)

40 th. (Jewish.)

41st. (Jewish) Training Reserve.

B 2

ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

42nd. (Jewish) Training Reserve.

43rd. Garrison, raised in France, 25/9/15.

44th. Garrison, raised in France, 25/9/15.

45th. North Russian Relief Force, Park Royal, 8/4/19.

46th. North Russian Relief Force, Park Royal, 8/4/19.

47th. New Garrison, raised Hounslow, 14/5/19.

City of London Battalions.

1st Londons* . 3 overseas battalions and 1 reserve.
3 overseas battalions and 1 reserve.
3 overseas battalions and 1 reserve.
3 overseas battalions and 1 reserve.
[ Home service battalions of low category
men, many of whom had been over-
( seas and disabled.
* * * *

The brigades and divisions in which the Royal Fusilier

battalions spent the greatest part of their service overseas

may be seen at a glance from the following table : —

1st Battalion . ) ., _, . ,

17th Brigade

2nd Londons
3rd Londons
4th Londons

29th Londons
30th Londons

12th
2nd Battalion
3rd Battalion
4th Battalion
7th Battalion
8th Battalion
9th

10th Battalion
13th

86th Brigade

85 th Brigade

9th Brigade

190th Brigade

36th Brigade
1 nth Brigade

54th Brigade
19th Brigade
99th Brigade
99th

5th

24th Division.

29th Division.

28th Division.

3rd Division.

63rd Division.

12th Division.

' 37th Division.
(34th Division, July
and August, 1916.)
18th Division.
33rd Division.

2nd Division.

nth Battalion

20th Battalion

22nd Battalion

23rd

17th

24th

* In order to avoid confusion the Territorial battalions Royal
Fusiliers are referred to throughout this book as 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Londons. The Regular and Service Battalions are referred to as " 1st
Battalion," or " 1st Royal Fusiliers"; "2nd Battalion," "2nd Royal
Fusiliers," etc.

WORK OF THE DEPOT

26th Battalion

32nd

1/1 London Regt.

i/3

i/4

1/2

2/1 London Regt.

2/2

2/3

2/4

124th Brigade
123rd

167th Brigade
167th
168th
169th

41st Division.

56th Division.

173rd Brigade . 58th Division.

Some idea of their war service may be gathered from the
table given on pp. 6 and 7, which summarises the move-
ments of the Regular and Service battalions. The move-
ments of the Londons do not yield as readily to tabular
arrangement.

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For the first year of the war large numbers of recruits
for the regiment arrived at the depot, were given a few
hours of squad drill and, if time allowed, a little elementary
musketry. They were then sent off in batches as soon as
the various battalions could receive them. At times the
nucleus of a whole battalion was despatched in one day.
At first clothing and necessaries presented considerable
difficulties, and in many cases recruits were sent off in
their civilian suits. A little later a plain blue serge
uniform and a field service cap were issued ; and, when
the cold weather set in, civilian overcoats of various shapes
and colours were provided. At this time there was a
serious shortage of blankets ; but, as the result of appeals,
a number of sympathetic civilians brought upwards of
1,000 blankets and rugs to the barracks. Later on, when
these were no longer required for the troops, they were
distributed among a number of hospitals.

In the early days the task of dealing with the large
number of recruits devolved upon a very limited staff,
composed for the most part of old Royal Fusiliers, either
over military age or unfit for active service. Towards

ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

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8 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the end of 1914 twelve metropolitan policemen were lent to
the depot, and for the months they remained at Hounslow
they proved a very efficient help in the training of the
recruits. Sometimes the accommodation was strained
almost to the breaking point, when large bodies of men
were sent to the depot at very short notice. " Labour "
recruits from all over the country were the first to test
the depot in this way. Later on, numbers of men for
substitution from various units arrived at the barracks
and stayed for some time as " the Substitution Com-
pany." Bodies of men discharged from hospital were also
quartered at Hounslow and put through a course of
' hardening " before being returned to their reserve
units. There were also agricultural companies ; and,
towards the end of the war, several thousands of " Im-
perial recruits," nominally British subjects, recruited in
U.S.A. and South America, had to be accommodated
at the barracks. It is hardly necessary to say that the
work represented by all these activities was immense.

The first four battalions were Regular battalions which
served with great distinction throughout the war. Two
of them, the 2nd and the 4th, each gained two Victoria
Crosses. The 5th and 6th were Reserve battalions. Both
of them mobilised at Hounslow and went to their war
stations a few days after the declaration of war, the 5th
under Lieut. -Colonel Vivian Henry and the 6th under
Lieut. -Colonel R. C. Batt, M.V.O. There they formed part
of the Dover defences and, fully equipped for the field,
manned defensive positions. Drafts were prepared for
the Expeditionary Force, and within a few weeks began
to arrive in increasing numbers. The work became
very strenuous. Instructors had to be improvised, the
battalions at times being over 4,000 strong, with numerous
recruits under training. Before the end of June, 1915,
80 officers and about 3,000 men had been sent to the front
by the 5th Battalion alone. Sent to Carrickfergus, Ireland,
at the end of 1917, the 6th Battalion had the pleasure of
entertaining for three days about 600 N.C.O.'s and men

RAISING OF THE BATTALIONS 9

of the American Expeditionary Force who had been
rescued from the S.S. Tuscania, torpedoed off the Irish
coast early in 1918.

The 7th (Extra Reserve) Battalion after demobilisation
reported daily to Finsbury Barracks for roll call, lectures,
etc., until August 8th, when it entrained, 18 officers and
750 other ranks strong, for Falmouth. Before leaving
London 100 men, under the command of Major the Hon.
A. C. S. Chichester,* had marched to the Guildhall and
handed over the battalion colours to the Lord Mayor for
safe custody.

The battalion, at first commanded by Lieut. -Colonel
Cockerill f and later by Lieut. -Colonel R. S. I. Hesketh,
became a draft-finding unit and, like the 5th and 6th
Battalions, sent out periodic reinforcements to the Fusilier
battalions overseas. This continued until July, 1916,
when the 7th mobilised for service in France, becoming
part of the 190th Brigade of the 63rd (Naval) Division.

Some of the battalions formed during the war were the
direct product of the units already existing. The 8th and
9th, both sendee battalions, began in this way. A draft
of one officer (Lieutenant T. G. Cope) and 100 O.R. left
the depot on August 15th for Colchester in company with
a similar draft under Lieutenant D. E. Estill to form the
8th and 9th Battalions respectively. The 8th was
reinforced by a draft of at least 500 from the 5th Battalion,
and on August 21st Lieut. -Colonel A. C. Annesley arrived
to take over command. This battalion secured two
Victoria Crosses during the war. Lieut. -Colonel J. C.
Robertson was the first CO. of the 9th, and both batta-
lions, after a period of strenuous training at Colchester and
Aldershot, left for France at the end of May, 1915.

The 10th (" Stockbrokers' ") Battalion was raised at the
direct suggestion of Sir Henry Rawlinson, then Director
of Recruiting, by Major the Hon. R. White. In a letter

* Later transferred to the Irish Guards.

f Transferred to War Office on August 4th. He became Director
of Special Intelligence.

io ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

to the latter at the Travellers' Club Sir Henry stated his
belief that there were " many City employes who would
be willing to enlist if they were assured that they would
serve with their friends." Major White was asked to
collect the names and addresses of those who would be
willing to serve in the service battalion of the Royal
Fusiliers. The battalion, which would be composed
entirely of City employes, would be sent abroad as soon
as it had attained a sufficient standard of efficiency. The
letter was dated August 12th. Recruiting began on the
21st, when 210 men presented themselves. The following
day the battalion was 425 strong ; it was 900 on the 24th,
1,300 on the 25th and 1,600 on the 27th. The numbers
speak for themselves ; but they represent the result of a
careful selection among the eager flock who presented
themselves. Parading in all sorts of clothing, from silk
hats and morning coats to caps and Norfolk jackets, the
battalion was inspected on the 29th by Lord Roberts in
Temple Gardens, and marched thence to the Tower Ditch,
where they were sworn in by the Lord Mayor, Sir W. Van-
sittart Bowater, who afterwards became Honorary Colonel.
The battalion proceeded to Colchester to begin training,
their first CO. being Lieut. -Colonel Hawker, D.S.O., who
was succeeded in November by Lieut. -Colonel the Hon.
R. Wbite. In July, 1915, they went to France, where
they won many decorations, including a V.C. (Lance-
Corporal Robertson) and suffered 2,647 casualties.

There was a twin to this battalion, differing wholly in
characteristics from it. How it was raised cannot be told
in a few words. Its description was " 10th Battalion
Royal Fusiliers or Intelligence B," abbreviated I (b).
It seems, like Topsy, to have just " growed." The first
nucleus was provided by a small body of men from
Scotland Yard especially selected for their knowledge of
French and German. It performed mysterious and
wonderful things, such as forming the buffer state between
a colonel and a babel of tongues. This representative
of I (b), a professor of languages, had to explain any lapses

Major-General Sir Geoffry Barton, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G.,
Colonel of the Royal Fusiliers.

THE INTELLIGENCE BATTALION n

from discipline to the colonel, and any punishments
inflicted on behalf of discipline to the recruits who were
possessed of the gift of tongues. The latter appears to
have been the more wearing task, though only by a shade.
In France their work consisted in the detection of German
agents. Working generally in civilian clothes, the small
nucleus expanded into a numerous body of officers and
men, recruited for their knowledge of languages, from
various units. In civil life these men represented the
oddest mixture of classes. There were some of those
mere idlers who pick up a variety of languages from their
penchant for travel. One was a travelling showman of
Russian bears, who piloted performing bears from the
extreme north to the southernmost point of Europe.
Another was an Anglo-Armenian sergeant, born in France
and educated in Czecho-Slovakia and Italy. Another
was a strange cross of Aberdeen and Naples.

This aggregation of strange types was at length placed
for administrative purposes in one unit, the ioth (b) Royal
Fusiliers. Beginning in France, where their counter-
espionage work did much to make our intelligence work
almost invariably superior to that of the enemy, I (b)
gradually spread to Italy, Salonika, the East, and, finally,
to Russia.

The nth Battalion is an example of the meaning of
personality. Recruited at Mill Hill as a battalion of the
Middlesex Regiment, they were received at Colchester by
Colonel the Hon. R. White (of the ioth), who asked them
if they would care to be a sister battalion to his own.
This was agreed to unanimously. At this time the
battalion was simply a body of enthusiastic recruits from
Manchester and Notting Hill ; and they slept their first
night at Colchester under hedges. During the next week
officers began to arrive. Major Taylor was the first
officer in charge of the battalion ; but Lieut. -Colonel C. C.
Carr was their first commander. The ioth battalion,
which had given the name to the nth, was transferred to
the nth Brigade ; and the nth battalion was left to

12 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

represent the Royal Fusiliers in the brigade. The nth
battalion had the good fortune to find in Mr. S. C. Turner,
a City business man, an ideal godfather. It has been
very difficult to trace some of the war battalions of the
Royal Fusiliers. They have disappeared with a com-
pleteness hardly credible in so short a time. But in
Mr. Turner the nth Battalion lives on its individual life.
During the war he took charge of every effort for the
amelioration of the men's conditions, and saw to their
relatives. He invented an ingenious contrivance for
drying the men's socks — a very pressing need — and
devised a special paper currency for the use of the battalion
in France. These " Fusilier " francs and centimes were
accepted, not only in the canteens, but by the French
people in billeting areas ; and, issued at first in exchange
for the men's money, were soon used, at the request of
the men, for their pay. The difficulties of small change
were thus overcome as easily as ingeniously. Between
5,000 and 6,000 men went through this one battalion in
the 54th Brigade, with whom they went out to France in
July, 1915.

The 12th Battalion was collected at Hounslow and
taken down to Shoreham. It was apparently formed in
pursuance of Lord Kitchener's policy announced by
Sir Henry Rawlinson to Major the Hon. R. White— the
desire to extend the scope of the Royal Fusiliers by adding
further units to the regiment. About September 25th,
1914, Colonel C. J. Stanton arrived to take command,
and the battalion went to France on September 1st, 1915.
During the first day of the battle of Loos Colonel Stanton
was called to Divisional Headquarters to take over the
work of Brigadier-General, and he handed over command
to Lieut.-Colonel Garnons- Williams, the second in com-
mand, who was mortally wounded the same day. Thus,
at one stroke, the higher direction of the battalion, in
whom all had learned to trust, was wiped out. Fortu-
nately in Major Compton the unit found a worthy
successor to these distinguished soldiers.

TRAINING BATTALIONS 13

The 13th Battalion was formed in much the same way
as the 12th. It was assembled in October, 1914, the
first CO. being Colonel F. P. Hutchinson. After a period
of training the battalion left for France in July, 1915,
where it performed distinguished service. Colonel Des
Vceux took the unit to France, and remained in command
until August, 1916, when he was evacuated sick.

In the " Army List," at the end of 1914, the 14th appears
as a service battalion, as do also the 15th and 16th. But
these were all training reserve battalions. The nucleus
of the two latter was furnished by the 6th (Reserve)
Battalion, like which they performed the most necessary
and important role of training drafts for the front. The
battalions were first commanded by Lieut. -Colonel C. R.
Hely-Hutchinson, Colonel S. G. Bird, D.S.O., and Lieut.-
Colonel G. R. Lascelles, respectively. The staffs of these
units consisted chiefly of N.C.O.'s of the Royal Fusiliers,
and the work of training went on so smoothly that rein-
forcements were sent out at regular intervals. The 16th
Battalion despatched drafts every nine weeks.

The 17th (Empire) Battalion was raised by a body of
gentlemen styled " The British Empire Committee." The
motive which drew them together in August, 1914, was
the desire to assist in the raising of troops ; and their first
intention was to raise a cavalry regiment on the lines of
the Imperial Light Horse. After various communications
with the military authorities it was found that cavalry
were not desired, but the Committee were authorised on
August 30th, 1914, to raise a battalion of infantry to be
designated the Empire Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. It
was subsequently numbered " the 17th (Service) Battalion,
Royal Fusiliers (Empire)." The battalion was raised
within ten days, and it went into camp at Warlingham
on September 12th. This successful result says much for
the energy of the Committee, under the chairmanship of
General Sir Bindon Blood, G.C.B., who, at the request
of the battalion, became their honorary colonel. The
Committee also included Mr. Herbert Nield, K.C., M.P.,

14 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

and Major-General Lionel Herbert, C.B., who became
secretary early in 1915, and very largely contributed
to the successful completion of the task. The same
gentlemen later raised, at the request of the War Office,
two brigades of Field Artillery, a Field Company R.E.,
and a Divisional Signal Company R.E. They clothed,
equipped and hutted the battalion, whose first commanding
officer was Major G. Harland Bowden, M.P. The men
never forgot the welcome they received at Warlingham,
and " Warlingham Crater," near Givenchy, perpetuated
their connection with the pleasant Surrey village. Their
war service secured many distinctions, including a
Victoria Cross for an action which stands out even among
heroic deeds.

British Public Schools and Universities yielded the
material for the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st Battalions. The
origin of these four battalions is fortunately clear. On
August 26th, 1914, there appeared in The Times a letter
over the signature " Eight Unattached," calhng upon all
Public School men of similar age and qualifications {i.e.,
marksmen at Bisley between the years 1898 and 1903)
to discuss the formation of a " Legion of Marksmen" at
59a, Brook Street, W., between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., on
August 27th. On proceeding to the rendezvous some of
the " Eight Unattached " informed inquirers that they
had that day joined the 10th City of London Regiment ;
but that, if any of those who had come wished to carry on,
the manager of Claridge's had kindly placed a room at
their disposal. Mr. J. P. Thompson, a young man of
fifty-three, who had spent fifteen years ranching in Texas,
decided to see if anything could be done, and with about
forty others took advantage of the offer of the manager of
Claridge's. A meeting was held at which he was elected
chairman and Mr. H. J. Boon secretary. After some dis-
cussion it was decided to offer to form a brigade 5,000
strong of old Public School and University men. Offices
were taken at 66, Victoria Street, and Dr. Hele-Shaw and
Mr. S. M. Gluckstein were added to the first committee.

PUBLIC SCHOOL BATTALIONS 15

The War Office soon recognised the usefulness of their
efforts and the plan was launched.

Mr. Thompson * resigned from the chairmanship, fearing
that it would preclude his going to France ; and Mr. H.J.
Boon became chairman in his place. Recruiting offices
were opened throughout the country, and the Public
Schools and Universities Force (" U.P.S.") came into being.
Within eleven days over 5,000 men had been recruited.
In the early days Sir Francis Lloyd inspected the London
contingent, some 2,000 strong, in Hyde Park, and remarked,
" The finest body of men I have ever seen." They were
fine men, a great number of them very young, but a
sprinkling between thirty and forty years of age. The
18th and 19th and half of the 20th Battalion went to
Epsom on September 18th, the other half of the 20th to
Leatherhead, and the 21st to Ashstead.

They were all enormously keen on their drill, and settled
down to their work in grim earnest. On October nth the
first rifles were issued, 200 to each battalion, and the
command was as follows : —

Brig.-General R. Gordon Gilmour, C.B., C.V.O.,
D.S.O.

Major H. E. Raymond.

Captain R. Hermon-Hodge, M.V.O.

18th Battalion : Colonel Lord Henry Scott.

19th Battalion : Lieut. -Colonel W. Gordon.

20th Battalion : Lieut. -Colonel C. H. Bennett, D.S.O.

21st Battalion : Lieut. -Colonel J. Stuart- Wortley.

The controversy on the supply of commissions came to a
head early in 1915, on a suggestion that the " U.P.S."
should provide an obvious reservoir. It was suggested in
the Press that the men were being prevented taking com-

* Mr. Thompson became a private in the 18th Battalion ; but, under
the well-established fear that it would become merely an officers'
training unit, offered himself to the A.S.C., by whom he was accepted
after manipulating his age. He became Captain in January, 1915,
and served in France from September, 1915, to March, 1918.

16 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

missions. How untrue this was may best be appreciated
from a stanza appearing in The Pow-Wow, the brigade
magazine : —

" Eight little P.S.U.'s feeling fit for heaven,
One joined the Flying Corps, and then there were seven ;
Six little P.S.U.'s tired of being alive,
One applied for Sandhurst, and then there were five ;
Five little P.S.U.'s found the ranks a bore,
The worst got gazetted, and then there were four."

And on April 15th a letter, signed by the committee of
the brigade, stated that when the new demand for officers
had been satisfied no fewer than "3,083 men will have
been taken altogether " for that purpose.

How the brigade coped with such a drain is impossible to
say. In some way they kept their corporate spirit and
looked forward eagerly to going out. It was this sort of
impatience that inspired the quatrain in The Pow-Wow, —

" Some to the Pyramids have raised their Eyes,
Others declare that France shall be our Prize ;
Some speak of Aldershot — This much is Truth,
We are at Woodcote — and — the Rest is Lies."

A very delightful cartoon of " Our Lady of Rumours "
emphasised the point by suggesting such places as Spain (!),
Sahara, Timbuctoo and China.*

At length the brigade went out and learned its paces
where a very great number of battalions first took lessons
in trench warfare : in the area about the La Bassee Canal.
There were at least seven battalions of Royal Fusiliers in
this area simultaneously : the four Public School Battalions,
the 8th, 17th and 24th. They went out to France in
November, 1915, and after a short acquaintance with
trench warfare, the demand for officers still continuing,
the 18th, 19th and 21st Battalions were disbanded in
April, 1916, the bulk of the men going to various cadet

* Cf. " The History of the Royal Fusiliers ' U.P.S.' (University and
Public Schools) Brigade (Formation and Training)," published by
The Times.

A FOKKER CAPTURED 17

schools, and the remainder as drafts to other Royal
Fusilier battalions.

Before disappearing as a unit, however, the 18 th had
the good fortune to capture a big Fokker behind the lines
on April 10th, 1916. They came on the scene when a
private of the Royal Engineers was attempting to convey
his delight at meeting a presumed French airman who was
trying to restart his machine. The German, finding his
hand warmly gripped, tried to look the part ; but the
1 8th Royal Fusiliers instantly recognised the machine,
with its Iron Cross, for what it was. They doubled,
unslung their rifles, and, thinking the German was trying
to pass papers to the other man, opened fire. But their
zeal outstripped their performance. The sapper, now
thoroughly bewildered, took to his heels; and the 18th
took over the machine and the pilot. The 20th Battalion
continued in being, and did good service, until February,
1918, when they too were disbanded.

The 22nd (Kensington) Battalion was raised by the
Mayor of Kensington, then Alderman William H. Davison.
C and D Companies were directly enlisted for service in
this battalion ; but A and B Companies were formed as
King Edward's Horse, and joined C and D at the White
City in September, 1914, to form the 22nd (Service)
Battalion Royal Fusiliers. The battalion combined a
very good type of Londoner and a very good type of
colonial, and the two amalgamated very successfully.
They trained at the White City, Roffey (Horsham),
Clipstone Camp, and Tidworth, sailing for France on
November 15th, 1915. Two depot companies were
formed to keep the unit up to strength ; and these, with
the two depot companies of the 17th Battalion, formed the
27th Reserve Battalion. The 22nd were disbanded in
February, 1918, being chosen by lot from the 99th Brigade
when it was decided to reduce the number of battalions
in the brigades. By that time the 22nd had earned for
themselves a name for courageous and skilful fighting.
Sergeant Palmer gained the Victoria Cross and a com-

18 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

mission for an act which not only called for pronounced
personal bravery, but also for no little foresight and
skill.

By a strange turn of fortune it devolved upon General
R. Barnett Barker, the former and best-beloved command-
ing officer of the battalion, to disband them. He had left
the battalion in November, 1917, to take command of the
3rd Infantry Brigade, and he succeeded General Kellett
in command of the 99th Brigade in January, 1918. He
sent them a farewell message which deserves a permanent
record : —

" In bidding farewell to the 22nd Battalion Royal
Fusiliers (Kensington)," he wrote, " I am sure that I voice
the feelings of all ranks of the 99th Brigade in expressing
our deep regret that we have to part with such comrades.

" Since November, 1915, under the able leadership of
our beloved and gallant brigadier, Brig. -General R. O.
Kellett, C.B., C.M.G., we have fought together in the
following actions : — Delville Wood, Vimy Ridge, Ancre,
Miraumont, Grevillers Trench, Oppy, and Cambrai, in
every one of which the 22nd Royal Fusiliers played a
conspicuous part. The mention of these important
actions, in which we have added fame to the 2nd Division,
is sufficient to prove the magnificent part you have filled
in making the history of the 99th Brigade.

" We all understand with what feelings you must view
the disbanding of your fine battalion. We know full well
your splendid esprit de corps, which engendered your fine
fighting spirit. We know of the N.C.O.'s and men still
with you who gave up their all in 1914 to join you. Nor
do we forget your many heroes who died for you and us all.

" Knowing full well all this, we can truly offer you our
heartfelt sympathies in your day of trial.

" The 22nd Battalion never lost a yard of trench or
failed their comrades in the day of battle. Such is your
record, and such a record of you will be handed down to
posterity.

" All of you, I am thankful to say, will remain in our
famous division, and 300 of you in the old brigade.

GENERAL BARNETT BARKER 19

" I know that the 22nd Royal Fusiliers will accept the
inevitable in their usual fine spirit, and will in time transfer
the esprit de corps they always prized so dearly to their
sister battalions.

" I feel certain their sister battalions will welcome them
with open arms and endeavour to heal the sores they now
so intensely feel.

" As one who served with you from the day of your
foundation to your disbandment (except for two months) ,
I know full well what this step means to you all.

" I also know that, though the 22nd Battalion Royal
Fusiliers has ceased to exist as a unit, you will not forget
that we are all Englishmen fighting Germans, and that
the fine, indomitable spirit of the battalion will still carry
you on until the one red and two white stars are inscribed
on the forts of the Rhine."

The 23rd and 24th were the Sportsman's Battalions,
which owed their origin to Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen,* daughter
of the late Sir Philip Cunliffe-Owen, K.C.B., and wife of
the late Edward Cunliffe-Owen, C.M.G.

The idea arose quite spontaneously. Mrs. Cunliffe-
Owen, on rallying some men-friends for not being in khaki,
was challenged to raise a battalion of middle and upper
class men up to the age of forty-five. She promptly went
with them to a post-office and telegraphed to Lord
Kitchener, " Will you accept complete battalion of upper
and middle class men, physically fit, able to shoot and
ride, up to the age of forty-five ? " The reply was,
" Lord Kitchener gratefully accepts complete battalion."
The India Room, Hotel Cecil, was taken for a month,
a dozen ex-officers were begged from the Officers' Associa-
tion, and the enrolment began. Each applicant, in the
presence of one of these ex-officers, filled in a form stating
his chest measurement, height, weight, nationality, and
whether he could shoot and ride and walked well. The
form was then taken to a screened-off part of the room,
where Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen signed it. The men were then

* Now Mrs. Cunliffe Stamford.

c 2

20 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

sent to a recruiting office to be medically examined and
attested.

The first battalion was complete in four weeks, and
Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen hustled a contractor into putting up
a fully equipped and model camp in nineteen days. These
were astounding achievements. Most other battalions
raised outside the War Office regime called upon more or less
elaborate organisations. Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen formed her
own organisation, looked into everything — even the menu —
and pushed the scheme through to a triumphant success.

The 23rd Royal Fusiliers, in uniform with full band,
marched through the streets of London to entrain at
Liverpool Street Station for Hornchurch, Essex, after
being inspected in Hyde Park by Colonel Maitland. On
March 17th, 1915, the 24th Royal Fusiliers (2nd Sports-
man's) were inspected on the Horse Guards' parade
ground by Brig.-General Kellett, who, after thanking Mrs.
Cunliffe-Owen in the name of the King and the nation for
raising two such fine battalions and congratulating her
on being the only woman in the world to have achieved
such a feat, requested her to take the salute. The recruits
for these battalions were a fine body of men, and were
drawn from all parts of the world. " A man who had
gone up the Yukon with Frank Slavin, the boxer ; another
who had been sealing round Alaska ; trappers from the
Canadian woods ; railway engineers from the Argentine ;
planters from Ceylon : big-game hunters from Central
Africa ; others from China, Japan, the Malay States,
India, Egypt — these were just a few . . ." * of those
who presented themselves at the Hotel Cecil in the autumn
of 1914.

The connection of the 23rd and 24th with London was
very intimate. They did physical jerks in Savoy Street,
and were put through their early paces in the very heart
of London. The men were all big fellows, the average
height being over 6 feet, and they took to their work

* The lyd Service Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (First Sportsman's),
by Fred W. Ward, p. 26.

THE SPORTSMAN'S BATTALIONS 21

gaily. Both battalions formed part of the 99th Brigade
of the 33rd Division at first ; but almost immediately
after their arrival in France on November 17th, 1915,
the 24th Battalion was placed in the 5th Brigade. At
the same time the brigade lost the 17th Battalion. These
changes were carried out in accordance with the reorganisa-
tion of the 2nd and 33rd Divisions into brigades, each
consisting of two new and two regular battalions. From
first to last 4,987 officers and men served overseas in the
23rd Battalion, and their casualty list came to a total
of 3,241.

Mrs. Cunliffe-Owen had supplied 1,500 fully trained
officers to the army by April, 1915, and when she formally
handed over the two battalions to the War Office on July
31st, 1915, she did not cease to follow their fortunes.
She wrote to every sick and wounded man, and visited
most of them in hospital. She, furthermore, raised the
nucleus of the 30th Royal Fusiliers as a training reserve
battalion, and put up the Eagle Hut in the Strand as
extra recruiting offices for them. F. C. Selous was one
of the 24th 's most eminent recruits. He was already an
old man, but he enlisted as a private. Another distin-
guished recruit was Warneford, who, after four months'
service in the battalion, joined the Royal Air Force, and
gained the Victoria Cross for first bringing down a Zeppelin.
When the 23rd Battalion was demobilised, Mrs. Cunliffe-
Owen was presented with one of the original drums as a
souvenir.

To many it will seem that the field from which the 25th
(Service) Battalion was chosen resembled that which pro-
vided the Sportsman's Battalion ; and, indeed, there was
a distinct similarity. But the Frontiersmen who formed
the 25th were already an existing organisation. Numbers
of the Legion passed through London soon after the out-
break of the war and found a home in various units.

But on February 12th, 1915, Colonel Driscoll, who led
" Driscoll's Scouts " in the South African War, was
informed that approval had been given for the raising of

22 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

" an infantry battalion 1,000 strong, to be called the 25th
(Sendee) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (Frontiersmen)." It
was stated later that the battalion was to be used to stiffen
troops in East Africa, then invaded by German troops.
Within three weeks of the subsequent appeal, the unit had
raised more than the required strength. About a third of
the men were members of the Legion ; and the battalion
included men of various ages and with strange experience
from all quarters of the globe. Among them were F. C.
Selous, the famous big-game hunter, explorer and natura-
list, who had been a private in the 24th, Cherry Kearton,
Martin Ryan and George Outram. On April 10th the
battalion — accepted and sent on active service without
preliminary training, the only unit so treated during the
war — embarked 1,166 strong at Plymouth. They had
travelled nearly 6,000 miles vid Aden before they reached
Mombasa, on May 4th. Fighting in East Africa involved
the overcoming of two enemies, nature and the Germans ;
and so terrible did the first prove, even to such hardened
and splendid adventurers, that by Christmas, 1916, only
60 of the original unit remained in the field, and a draft of
600 were sent out. The 25th certainly left a name in East
Africa and secured a V.C. (Lieutenant W. Dartnell).
But this is a trite summary of a campaign that proved a
heavier strain on endurance than any other.

The 26th (Service) Battalion the Royal Fusiliers
(Bankers) was raised early in 1915 from bank clerks and
accountants by Major William Pitt, an old Volunteer
officer ; and it had Sir Charles Johnston and Sir Charles
Wakefield, two Lord Mayors of London, as honorary
colonels. Drawn from all parts of the country, the men
carried through the first part of their training at Marlow
and High Beech ; and, made up to full strength in
November, the battalion moved to Aldershot, becoming
part of the 124th Brigade of the 41st Division, com-
manded by Sir Sydney Lawford. Under command of
Lieut. -Colonel the Hon. W. F. North they embarked for
France on May 4th.

SERVICE IN RUSSIA 23

The 26th was one of the two Fusilier battalions to see
service in Italy ; but they were brought back to France
early in 1918 in time for the German March offensive.

In order to retain even the battalions enumerated at full
strength a number of special training reserve units were
formed, the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st, being raised
and used for this purpose.

The 29th and 30th Battalions, who sent a specially
picked Volunteer Company to Russia in June, 1918, were
battalions of the London Regiment, formed of low category
men and men who had been disabled overseas. This was
apparently the first formed British infantry unit to serve
in Russia since the Crimea. The company took part in
most of the operations at Murmansk, and in July —
August went to Archangel. From the landing up to the
capture of Oboyerskia they remained in the Archangel
area and returned to Murmansk on relief by American
infantry. Two other battalions also served in Russia, the
45th and 46th, and the former won two V.C.'s. Each of
these was awarded long after the war proper had ended.*
But the exploits are worthy of record here.

The first was awarded to Corporal Arthur Percy Sullivan
For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on
August 10th, 1919, at the Sheika River, North Russia.

The platoon to which he belonged, after fighting a rear-
guard covering action, had to cross the river by means of
a narrow plank, and during the passage an officer and
three men fell into a deep swamp.

Without hesitation, under intense fire, Corporal Sullivan
jumped into the river and rescued all four, bringing them
out singly. But for this gallant action his comrades
would undoubtedly have been drowned. It was a
splendid example of heroism as all ranks were on the point
of exhaustion and the enemy less than 100 yards distant.

And the second to Sergeant Samuel George Pearse, M.M.

For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty and
self-sacrifice during the operation against the enemy

* See note, p. 2.

24 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

battery position north of Emtsa (North Russia) on
August 29th, 1919.

Sergeant Pearse cut his way through the enemy barbed
wire under very heavy machine-gun and rifle fire, and
cleared a way for the troops to enter the battery position.

Seeing that a blockhouse was harassing our advance
and causing us casualties, he charged the blockhouse
single-handed, killing the occupants with bombs.

This gallant non-commissioned officer met his death a
minute later, and it was due to him that the position was
carried with so few casualties.

His magnificent bravery and utter disregard for per-
sonal danger won for him the admiration of all troops.

There were still other battalions who served in the
operations which are more strictly comprised under the
title The Great War. The Mayor of East Ham had raised
three or four brigades of artillery when he formed the
impression that an infantry battalion could also be formed.
After consultation with Major F. Cannon, the recruiting
officer at East Ham and Barking, he wrote to the War Office
early in October, 1915, and approval was given, subject
to the proviso that if 600 men were not raised before
Christmas the approval would be withdrawn. Major
Cannon took up the recruiting, and in the first three weeks
secured only one recruit, a typist, who was employed in
the office. A few more offered themselves early in Novem-
ber, and at the end of the month the total sprang to 500.
Only one N.C.O., C.Q.M.S. Childs, afterwards killed in
action while serving with the 10th Queen's, was available
to pay, billet and look after the new recruits. Major
Cannon was placed in command, and the other units of the
regiment supplied officers. At Christmas the battalion
(the 32nd) was ordered to Aldershot and remained there
until May 5th, when it embarked for France under the
command of Lieut. -Colonel Key, of the Yorks and Lanes.
Regiment, who had lately returned from Gallipoli. The
men were quick to learn and, though the officers were
drawn from various units, the battalion worked well

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LABOUR UNITS 25

together, and with the 26th did good service in the
war.

An honourable group of units was formed as Labour
battalions. Among these were the 34th, 35th, 36th and
37th Battalions, which were raised in the spring of 1916 at
Falmer, near Lewes, and left for France in June. Colonel
N. A. K. Burne was in command of the 35th, Colonel G. E.
Even, C.B., of the 36th, and Colonel Savage of the 37th.
The battalions served in various parts of the country,
unloading ships, making roads, or constructing ammunition
dumps. While working on a ship at Rouen in the morning
of January 28th, 1917, Private Noble slipped on the gang-
way and fell into the Seine. It was bitterly cold and the
Seine was crowded with boulders of drift ice. In spite of
this Private Robert Barker, of the 35th Labour Battalion,
finding that Noble could not swim, jumped into the river
and supported him until both could be pulled out. He was
awarded the Royal Humane Society's Testimonial on
Vellum for this brave action.

But for the most part the work of the Labour battalions
did not offer the opportunity of spectacular actions. The
men worked steadily and well. The work was heavy, and
for some time the 35th worked in shifts, by night as well
as day, unloading heavy gun ammunition from ships at
Rouen. In May, 1917, the Labour battalions were broken
up and formed into Labour companies of 500 each, the
35th becoming the 103rd and 104th Infantry Labour
Companies ; the 36th, the 105th and 106th Labour
Companies ; the 37th, the 107th and 108th Companies.
Sergeant Lyles, of the 36th, was among those who, at the
end of the war, received a decoration, being awarded the
M.S.M.

Another group of battalions was composed of Jewish
recruits. When the idea was first mooted in the autumn
of 1915 by Mr. Joseph Cowen and Dr. Eder, it met with
no sympathy at the War Office. But in April, 1915, the
Zion Mule Corps was formed in Alexandria, Egypt, by
some 500 or 600 Palestinian refugees and local Jews. It

26 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

was commanded by Lieut. -Colonel J. H. Patterson, D.S.O.,
and did good service in Gallipoli, but was disbanded in
the summer of 1916. About 100 of its members re-en-
listed in the British Army, were brought to London and
posted to the 20th London (Territorials). They after-
wards formed the nucleus of Jewish N.C.O.'s and
instructors for the Jewish infantry battalions.

In the meantime the old idea had sprung to life once
more and the Government was pressed to allow the
formation of a Jewish unit for Palestine. The movement
was led by Mr. Vladimir Jabotinsky, and was strongly
supported by Dr. Weizmann, the President of the Zionist
Organisation. In April, 1917, the War Cabinet decided
to allow the formation of the unit. In August its forma-
tion was announced under the name of " Jewish Regiment
of Infantry " ; but this description was subsequently
withdrawn and the Jewish battalions became the 38th to
42nd Royal Fusiliers, with their depot at 22, Chenies
Street, W.C., and their camp at Plymouth. The battalions
were chiefly intended for the reception of Russian Jews, to
be enlisted under a special convention with M. Kerensky's
Government. Permission to use Kosher food was granted
with the assurance that the battalions would be employed
on the Palestine front, and would be granted a Jewish
name and badge if they distinguished themselves.

About 2,000 Jews joined from England, a proportion
of them being volunteers. Their enlistment was stopped
after the fall of M. Kerensky's Government and the
victory of the Bolsheviks in Russia ; but, in the beginning
of 1918, a widespread movement of voluntary recruiting
began in the United States and Canada. Jews in the
Argentine were also allowed to enlist, and practically the
whole of the able-bodied young Jews in the liberated part
of Palestine (Judea) applied to be enlisted. These various
sources involved large numbers ; but owing to technical
difficulties connected with the numerous nationalities and
difficulties of transport, only a small proportion of those
overseas could actually be enlisted. But altogether about

JEWISH BATTALIONS IN PALESTINE 27

10,000 joined the Jewish battalions, of whom over three-
quarters were volunteers; and some 5,000 actually served
in Palestine. The recruiting campaign in the United
States, Canada, the Argentine, and especially Palestine,
evoked unprecedented enthusiasm, both Zionist and
pro-British.

The 38th Battalion, under Lieut. -Colonel J. H. Patterson,
landed in Egypt in January, 1918, to complete their
training, and went to the front in June, 1918. They
reached Ludd on June 6th, and were inspected by General
Allenby, for the second time. After a few days they
marched off to take their share in the line and took over
the three miles lying between Jiljilia (some three miles
west of the Nablus road) and Abwein. They speedily
won their spurs in the tasks of the hour — scouting,
patrolling and trench digging — and were then given a
most trying part of the line in the Jordan valley. The
seven miles for which they were responsible stretched
westward from the Jordan above Jericho, and seemed at
times to be almost an island in a sea of enemies. On the
west was a gap which offered a constant invitation to
the enemy ; but the battalion ably supported the Anzac
Mounted Division in harrying the Turks and discovering
their plans. They also took part in Allenby's attack in
September by capturing the ford of Umm-esh-Shert on
the night of the 21st, and so enabling the mounted troops
to cross the river towards Es Salt (Ramoth Gilead) and
outflank the Turks. In this operation they were assisted
by the 39th battalion, commanded by Lieut. -Colonel E. L.
Margolin, a former officer of the Australian Expeditionary
Force. The force known as Patterson's column crossed
the Jordan and occupied the road between Tel Nimrin
and Es Salt until the collapse of the Fourth Turkish
Army and Second Turkish Corps, when they returned to
Jerusalem with a large body of Turkish and German
prisoners. They had performed distinguished service,
and were awarded a number of distinctions.

The 40th Battalion consisted chiefly of Palestinian

28 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

recruits. Many Turkish Jews, who were prisoners of war
in Egypt, asked permission to join, and 150 of them were
accepted. They were trained at Tel-el-Kebir and were
employed on garrison duty during the autumn and winter
of 1918-1919. Their first commander was Lieut. -Colonel
Scott, who was succeeded by Lieut. -Colonel F. Samuel.

These battalions had some well-known recruits. Major
James de Rothschild was in the 39th. Jacob Epstein was
for some time a private in the 38th. Anton Tchaikov,
the violinist, and now the Director of the School of Music
at Jerusalem, was at first a private and later a sergeant
in the 38th. Mr. V. Jabotinsky, the initiator of the
movement, was a sergeant and later honorary lieutenant
in the 38th ; and M. Smeliansky, the well-known Jewish
novelist, was a corporal in the 40th, who also numbered
among their privates Mr. Vinnik, the Chemical Director
of the Rishon Wine Cellars, and Mr. Ben Zivi, a member
of the Advisory Council to the High Commissioner for
Palestine. Other names of distinguished and remarkable
men who enlisted in these battalions might be quoted ;
but it is obvious that the units started with a strangely
ideal impetus and naturally cast a wide net among Jews.
The 41st and 42nd Battalions were formed as draft-
training units for the three battalions on active service,
and were stationed at Plymouth.

All these battalions performed good service. During
the trouble in Egypt these were practically the only white
infantry troops in Palestine. They guarded the whole
railway line from Romani up to Ludd-Haifa-Semach. In
the autumn of 1919 they were officially given the name
" Judeans " with a special badge " theMenora " (the eight-
branched candlestick, the symbol of the Maccabeans), with
the Hebrew word " Kadima " (" Forwards and East-
wards "). The sleeve badge Shield of David (38th,
purple ; 39th, red ; 40th, blue) was granted in 1918.

The Territorial battalions mobilised at the outbreak of
war and first acted as guard to the London and South
Western Railway main lines. On September 4th they

THE TERRITORIALS 29

embarked for Malta, and after a period of service there left
for France on January 2nd, 1915. Second line battalions
were formed when the first line battalions left England,
and these later became the units of the 173rd Brigade of
the 58th Division, as the first line units joined the 56th
Division. Third line battalions were formed when the
second line left England for Malta in December, 1914 ;
and fourth line battalions were raised as draft-forming
units. These battalions were telescoped towards the end
of the war as a consequence of severe losses and the drain
of supporting three battalions per unit, i.e., twelve batta-
lions in all. The third lines generally became the second
line battalions, and at least one second line battalion
disappeared as a distinct entity. The draft-forming units
were also turned into one. The battalions of the London
Regiment distinguished themselves in many battles of the
war, and, like the new service, labour and training batta-
lions, were proud of being Royal Fusiliers. At times, it
was said that the war was mechanical, but no one can
study the expansion of the Royal Fusiliers without being
more conscious of the spiritual side. It was largely the
old leaven of a famous regiment which turned these
strangely assorted units into splendid righting battalions

who left their mark on the history of the war.

* * # * *

Such in brief outline is the field covered by this
book. The sources are the battalion diaries, personal
diaries of officers, special accounts of particular incidents
contributed by soldiers actually engaged in them, a
considerable number of letters and numerous conversations
with officers of various battalions.

A very interesting chapter could be made of the official
diaries. A certain high officer drew attention to the low
standard attained by the units of his command in this
matter ; but the suggestions made for improvement are
not always beyond criticism. The weather is " never " a
necessary entry, it is stated. This is obviously unsound.
The weather is a deciding factor in many operations ; and

30 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

when of two battalions in the same area, one attacks and
the other desists on account of the weather — an actual case
of two Fusilier battalions — it becomes absolutely necessary
to know the circumstances in detail. There is also a
presumably sarcastic remark that the regimental historian
will shrink from the statement that " the battalion played
the Brigade H.Q. at baseball and beat them." On the
contrary. When the men play their football matches
there is a clear indication of the morale of the unit ; and
when, as in a particular case, a battalion is stated to have
been too tired to carry out its fixtures it is reasonably
certain that the unit was too weary to be of much use in
active operations. A final statement that " it is certainly
not necessary to state when officers went on and returned
from leave " is clearly absurd.

It is frequently most difficult to discover who was
actually in charge of a given operation ; and unless the
command is stated in detail before every engagement, the
only indication of the sort of force that went into action
is provided by the notes about leave.

But the actual diaries are singularly instructive. Those
of the Regular battalions are almost invariably restrained
and bald to an irritating degree. The new battalions, on
the contrary, give much information, some of it naive to an
almost incredible extent, some of it most interesting to
the historian, all of it useful in forming a picture of the
unit. All the mechanism of posting sentries, carrying out
reliefs, standing-to, etc., is described by one tireless
diarist. Everything is put down coldly and carefully,
with machine-like detachment, until the battalion goes to
Murrumbidgee Camp. Nothing hitherto had disturbed
the perfection of this officer's self-possession. But there
was something about this camp that stirred him to his
depths ; and, in place of the usual carefully dispassionate
description, he states that the camp is " a filthy hole with
a debauched and frozen bath-house which battalion is
supposed to work."

Another diarist ventures the callow remark " One of our

THE BATTALION DIARIES 31

Lewis guns claimed to have hit a German who exposed
himself." A little later we find him slaughtering whole
units without any tentative claims. Another diarist is
perpetually reporting the remains of dead soldiers. Either
he was morbidly interested in this or the battalion had an
unusually gruesome experience. There is a certain
humour in the description of a shelling of billets which
concludes: " One man hit on pay parade." And surely,
as the full description of an early spring day, the following
can hardly be beaten : " Snowed heavily. Men rested
and bathed. Football match." A man who could write
in that vein was certainly innocent of shell-shock ! One
diarist kills three men on two different occasions, with full
details. But as a tour deforce the description by a diarist
of a certain battalion which went through the great
retreat in March, 1918, stands supreme. On March 25th
every unit appears to be retiring about him. The provi-
sional line is crumbling. There is amazing confusion.
Then comes the statement " 4 p.m. Artillery falling short
on X (a neighbouring division). Brigade informed.
Quiet evening." This from a " K " battalion is suggestive.
One wonders what a disturbed evening would havebeen like.
But the diaries are not always complete. One battalion
diary gives no map references for the first seventeen
months, and the first map reference does not give the
number of the sheet. Frequently, perhaps invariably,
the diaries give the position of battalion headquarters,
though part of the battalion may have billeted some miles
away. In most cases this would be of little importance.
But in the case of the 4th Battalion at Mons on the night
of the battle in 1914, it is of the first importance to know
that part of the battalion slept north of the fine which
von Kluck appears to have reported held by one of his
corps ! The battalion diary gives the locus of the battalion
that night as Ciply. Captain Harding notes that they
slept that night in a field " at Mons Hospital." *

* Lieutenant Longman, of the same company, says " Nimy Hospital."
This is clearly a slip for Mons.

32 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

At times, where detail is most desirable, incidents have
had to be slurred over because of a complete conflict of
evidence. The time for anonymous heroes would seem
to have passed ; but, with the perversity of the Regular
battalions impelling them to cover up their deeds and the
conflict of evidence where the broad outlines are given,
it will still require years of research before the full flower
of the British soldiers' achievement can be known.

CHAPTER II

FIRST BATTLES — MONS TO THE AISNE

In England the first contact of the British forces with
the German Army formed a unique episode. Other en-
counters took on a grander colouring ; others were viewed
with a graver anxiety. But the battle of Mons, which
saw the first entry of the British Army into the world war,
stirred the emotions deeper than any subsequent action.

It was not in this way, however, that the army first gave
battle. The 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers engaged at
Mons with a coolness which is bewildering and almost
distressing to the civilian. Stationed at Parkhurst at the
outbreak of war, it had reported mobilised before midnight
on August 8th. It began to move on the 12th and sailed
for Havre at 6 p.m. on the following day. The speed and
smoothness of its preparations had outpaced the arrange-
ments for its reception ; and only the Northumberland
Fusiliers of the 9th Brigade could be accommodated in
tents at the rest camp at Harfleur. The weather was hot.
The battalion had embodied 734 reservists ; and as the
troops struggled up the steep hill to the rest camp after a
seven mile march about 97 fell out.

The men had met with an enthusiastic reception at
Havre. French soldiers on the quay gave them a hearty
welcome, and the troops did their best to show their sense
of gratitude by whistling the " Marseillaise." By a
transition which needs no explanation to those who know
the ordinary Tommy, they then turned to " Hold your
hand out, naughty boy." This, sung with great fervour
and seriousness, was received with bared heads by the
French, who quite pardonably thought it the British
National Anthem. It was a great day, and even the

F. D

34 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

settling down into orchards for the night did not chasten
the men's spirits.

But that night a terrific thunderstorm burst over the
camp, and the men, lying in the open, were soaked to the
skin. The rain came down in torrents and it continued
almost to the moment when, on the 16th, the battalion
entrained for the concentration area. The train slowly
crossed the country via Amiens to Landrecies, and every-
where on the line were cheering French crowds with
presents of flowers. Early on the 17th the battalion
arrived at Landrecies and marched to Noyelles, where,
with a little rest and marching, the men got into condition.
These were the days when people at home were almost
holding their breath ; but if they could have seen several
officers and men fishing in a tiny pond and catching
minnows on pins they might have been reassured, or
perhaps, more apprehensive !

On the 20th the battalion left Noyelles for Taisnaires,
and on the following day they marched out as advance
guard and billeted at La Longueville. On this day the
outposts of the 9th Brigade lay across the battlefield of
Malplaquet. The hour of departure on the 22nd had been
fixed at 4 a.m. for 6.30 a.m., but at five o'clock a message
reached brigade headquarters that the starting time was
to be advanced by an hour and a half.

The 4th Battalion were on the march before 5.15, a
very remarkable performance. They were again advance
guard, and by the evening they had reached Nimy, after
meeting with an enthusiastic welcome from the people
of Mons, who loaded them with presents of eggs, fruit,
tobacco, and even handkerchiefs. The position at this
moment deserves notice. Army orders issued by von
Bulow at 8 p.m. on the 22nd showed very clearly that no
appreciable force of the British was thought to be within
the marching radius of the First and Second German
Armies. On the other hand, the British Army did not
expect to meet with anything more than a stimulating
opposition from the Germans. It is necessary to bear the

Brig.-Gexeral N. R. McMahon, D.S.O., who commanded
4th Royal Fusiliers from Mons to Ypres.

the

DISPOSITIONS AT MONS 35

latter fact in mind to appreciate the dispositions of the
Royal Fusiliers.

They formed part of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Division,
and their orders were to the effect that the canal was to
be " the line of resistance." But on the night of the
22nd the battalion was occupying posts covering Ghlin,
just south of the Bois de Ghlin and the Bois Brule. There
was no field of fire, and every opportunity for unseen
approach. Such a position, obviously, would have been
unthinkable if any prolonged defence had been contem-
plated ; and, indeed, late in the afternoon the men were
withdrawn to the canal. Even now there were strict
orders that the canal bridges should not be destroyed
without explicit orders from the 3rd Division ; and,
finally, the general disposition of the line, with its sharp
salient about Mons, sufficiently emphasises the provisional
nature of the position and the implied probability of a
light encounter and a subsequent advance.

Mons. — The Royal Fusiliers were to bear the brunt of this
misconception. As the right-hand battalion of the brigade,
they were disposed along the western face of the canal bend,
with the charge of all the crossings up to and including
Nimy Bridge. On their right lay the 4th Middlesex,
charged with the defence of the eastern face of the canal.
The left (IX.) corps of the First German Army was engaged
on this part of the front, each of the two battalions in the
canal bend having to withstand the attack of two regi-
ments (each of three battalions) of the 18th Jager Division.
On the morning of the 23rd the battalion, mustering 26
officers and 983 other ranks, was disposed as follows : —

Y (or " C ") Company, under Captain Ashburner, lay
north of Nimy, its right joining with the 4th Middlesex,
and its left a little north of Lock 6. Captain Forster, with
two platoons, held Nimy Bridge ; the two other platoons
and company H.Q. were entrenched at the railway bridge
and on the canal bank to the left of it.

Z (or " D ") Company, under Captain Byng, held
positions about Lock 6 and the Ghlin-Mons bridges.

D 2

36 ROYAL FCSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

X (or " B ") Company, under Captain Carey, lay about
Nimy station in support, at battalion headquarters ; and
Captain Cole lay with the battalion reserve W (or " A ")
Company north of Mons. In point of fact, therefore, the
two companies, Y and Z, were on the defensive against
six German battalions.

Sketch Map showing the General Disposition of the 4TH
Royal Fusiliers at the Battle of Mons.

To the right lies the hospital, near which part of the battalion lay on

the night after the battle.

The march to Mons had been trying, and there was no
time for rest. After a twenty miles tramp the men were
set to work to put the wood position about Ghlin into
a state of defence. When a good deal of labour had been
spent in an attempt to make it defensible, the men were
withdrawn to the canal line. Captain Byng's company
still lay on both sides of the canal ; and at first the main
position was on the German side. The Ghlin-Mons
railway bridge was blocked by the ingenious expedient

THE FIRST SHOTS 37

of wheeling cable drums thither and then turning them
over on their sides. But Z Company was not seriously
attacked except during the last three-quarters of an hour
before the retirement. The heavier attack was delivered
against the Nimy bridges, and particularly the railway
bridge. On the eastern face of the canal the German
attack was made more advantageously, because un-
hampered by buildings. To avoid a similar handicap
on the western side, the Germans made little attempt
against Nimy Bridge, which is covered by houses and
buildings, and in any case was swung back, but struck
more violently against the railway bridge and its neigh-
bourhood, where the ground was opener. The German
side of the bridge was blocked by a wire entanglement,
and across the track within the canal loop a trench had
been dug. The railway embankment stood high and the
trees on its sides gave some cover to the troops between
it and the Nimy Bridge. The two machine guns were in
small emplacements built on either buttress of the railway
bridge, the right one, with a fair radius of action command-
ing the flats, below the bridge. They afforded an
inevitable focussing point for the German fire.

It was a body of very weary men who met the Germans
on the morning of the 23rd, for many of them had been
working practically all night. The Germans could be
heard moving about in the woods north of the canal in
the dark, and early in the morning a cavalry patrol
consisting of an officer and about six men suddenly
appeared on the Nimy road. They galloped straight
towards the bridge, which was swung round, making an
impassable obstacle. The Fusiliers opened fire, shot
four of the men and wounded the officer. Two of the
men were apparently untouched, and rode off. The
officer, with his horse shot and wounded in the leg, was
captured. By a singular irony it was Lieutenant von
Arnim, son of the commander of the IV. * German Army
Corps. He was wearing his Death's Head Hussar

* Engaged against the left of Smith-Dorrien's corps.

38 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

uniform ; but the brave show merely threw into higher
relief the folly of his action. His notebook showed that
he had been observing the British position from the edge
of the wood. An aeroplane had been seen making a
thorough reconnaissance of the position the night before ;
but, despite this activity, the Germans were in complete
ignorance of the dimensions of the force in front of them,
and when, at about ten o'clock, they opened the attack,
they appeared above the skyline, approaching the railway
and Nimy bridges in column of route. They were only
about 1,000 yards distant ; and the rapid fire, assisted by
the machine guns, in a few minutes destroyed their leading
section of fours. The men had never expected such
targets, and they eagerly seized upon the opportunity.
The column retired out of view, and the position was
thoroughly shelled before the advance was resumed in
extended order. There was no reply to the German guns,
and their fire was particularly galling because of this fact.

When the Fusiliers had first taken up their positions
there had been no thought of retreat, and ammunition
boxes had been distributed about the trenches. But as
the battle developed an order came that the battalion
was to be ready to move at ten minutes' notice. The
ammunition was then put into carts with the result that
a shortage was experienced, later, in the firing line. The
German artillery very soon crept round the whole of the
canal salient and Y Company was taken in rear, in
enfilade and frontally. Some of the rifle fire aimed at this
company caught Captain Attwood's post at Lock 6, where
Lieutenant Harding's platoon lay, and, taking one of the
trenches in enfilade and reverse, led to its abandonment.
Apart from this and periodic bursts of shrapnel Z Company
suffered little. They had early sunk the boats and fired
the barges in case of retreat, and for the rest they could do
nothing but witness the plight of Ashburner's company.

In this section of the canal the position was almost
desperate. The field of fire was indifferent, but the great
volume of converging German fire could not fail to tell.

Lieutenant M. J. Dease, 4TH Battalion, who won the first
V.C. of the War at Mons, August 23RD, 1914.

FIRST VICTORIA CROSSES 39

Ashburner sent to Nimy for reinforcements, and Captain
Carey sent up Second Lieutenant Mead with a platoon.
He was shot in the head at once, but went back whistling
to have it dressed behind the trenches. He returned to
the front and was again shot through the head and killed.
All this time the company kept up a destructive fire against
the German infantry who lost very heavily. More rein-
forcements were sent for, and Captain Bowden-Smith and
Lieutenant E. C. Smith went up with a platoon. The
latter was killed and the former was left dying on the retire-
ment. Captain Fred Forster, of Ashburner's company,
was also killed. Ashburner himself was wounded near the
eye, and Lieutenant Steele was hit. The fight grew hotter
and more terrible. The machine gun crews were constantly
being knocked out. So cramped was their position that
when a man was hit he had to be removed before another
could take his place. The approach from the trench was
across the open, and whenever the gun stopped Lieutenant
Maurice Dease, the young machine gun officer, went up
to see what was wrong. To do this once called for no ordi-
nary courage. To repeat it several times could only be
done with real heroism. Dease was twice badly wounded
on these journeys, but insisted on remaining at duty as
long as one of his crew could fire. The third wound proved
fatal, and a well deserved V.C. was awarded him post-
humously. By this time both guns had ceased firing, and
all the crew had been knocked out. In response to an in-
quiry whether any one else knew how to operate the guns
Private Godley came forward. He cleared the emplace-
ment under heavy fire and brought the gun into action.
But he had not been firing long before the gun was hit
and put completely out of action. The water jackets of
both guns were riddled with bullets, so that they were no
longer of any use. Godley himself was badly wounded and
later fell into the hands of the Germans. He was cheered
in his captivity to learn that he also had been awarded
the V.C* At 1.40 p.m. the battalion was finally ordered

* These were the first V.C.'s won and awarded during the war.

40 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

to retire, and did so in perfect order. Ashburner's com-
pany had lost about 75 men, and the Germans were
within 200 yards of their position. They fell back slowly
upon Mons and, when they were well clear of their position,
Byng's company retired. For three-quarters of an hour
this company had been under direct frontal attack from
the woods in front ; but the Germans had made no head-
way. Now they had about a mile to cover, the first 250
yards over open ground with the German guns firing
shrapnel at 500 yards range, and a heavy rifle fire. There
were two railway embankments to cross ; but the com-
pany suffered little beyond thrills despite the heavy fire.
The infantry were firing high, and even shrapnel burst
too high to be effective. At the second embankment they
met X and Y Company, and with them got safely through
to Mons. The retirement was covered by W Company act-
ing rearguard with Major Mallock in charge. No Germans
crossed by the bridges which the Royal Fusiliers had
defended, while the rearguard stood north of Mons. But
the enemy had forced the Obourg bridge on the eastern side
of the canal bend, and from the higher ground to the west
of it a heavy fire was opened upon the last Fusiliers to
retire. The rearguard joined the rest of the battalion in
the Market Square, where a short halt was made.

The 4th Battalion had suffered very heavily. Besides
the officers already mentioned there were about 150 other
ranks' casualties. There were many remarkable escapes.
Lieutenant (" Kingy ") Tower, of Y Company, had his hat
shot off, his rifle hit and two bullets through his puttees.
Private Denners, of the same company, had three shots
through his hat, one on the end of his rifle, and one
through the sole of his boot, but he was unhurt.

The men had exacted a very heavy price for these
losses, and it is now known that this factor had a material
iufluence on the later German tactics.* On the immediate
course of the battle its influence was of decisive import-
ance. Though the canal bend was abandoned at 2 p.m.

* " Forty Days in 19 14," General Maurice, p. 83.

THE RETREAT, AUGUST 24TH 41

and there still remained several hours of daylight the
troops were not molested, and part of the Royal Fusiliers
were joined by the Middlesex Regiment in an open field at
the hospital in Mons.* The IX. German Corps reported
its outposts after dusk in touch with the main British
position. Von Kluck states that " the IX. Corps had
occupied the southern edge of Mons f . . ." But this
was apparently an euphemism. General von Biilow, who
seems to have been more alive to the chances of the situa-
tion, attempted to compel the IX. Corps to bestir itself.
His order issued " between 8 p.m. and 10.15 p.m." f and
received at 0.7 on the 24th directed that the corps should
" advance immediately west of Maubeuge ..." An
order was also sent direct to the IX. Corps that it " was
to be alarmed and advance at once. In reply to this, a
message was sent back that both the IX. and III. Corps
were already in a battle position facing the enemy . . . and
that the advance ordered was therefore impracticable."

They had learned a new respect for the British fire, and
no small part in the inculcation of this lesson was played
by the 4th Battalion.

Retreat. — But while General von Biilow was receiving
caustic but very unsatisfactory replies from General
von Kluck, the Royal Fusiliers were on the move once
more. At 2 a.m., after about four hours' sleep, the
battalion left Mons Hospital and took up a position south
of Mons, covering Frameries. An attempt was made to
put an extended line into a state of defence. The battalion
was in support to the 7th Brigade at this time beyond the

* This much seems clear — Byng's company were at Mons Hospital
and probably Ashburner's. The other two companies and headquarters
were clear of Mons at 3.30 p.m., and at 7 p.m. arrived at Ciply, two or
three miles south of Mons. The first point is substantiated by the
private diaries of two officers of Byng's company, and the second by
the battalion diary and Major Mallock's diary.

f " The March on Paris, 1914," p. 48. There is a certain ambiguity
about the time to which this refers. If the words " by the evening "
govern the rest of the paragraph, von Kluck is inaccurate. But during
the night, i.e., on the 24th, the British fell back.

X Ibid., p. 51.

42 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

brow of a hill. On the crest was a small house which
Lieutenant Longman's platoon loopholed, and it was later
used to cover the retreat of the firing line. The officers
of the battalion were receiving verbal instruction as to the
way the supports would have to go when the Germans
attacked, opening with an artillery bombardment to which
the British guns replied. Dawn had just broken when
Byng's company was sent to reinforce the left flank of the
position which the Germans were trying to turn. This
part of the line had not been entrenched and the half
company lying on the extreme left suffered very heavily.
The rest of the line had fallen back when Byng retired
with a loss of about 40 per cent., covered by Longman's
platoon. About 2,000 yards farther back the battalion
stood in an entrenched position, and waited for the Germans
to appear over the crest of the hill. The British guns were
bursting over the reverse slope and the heavy rifle fire
which met the enemy as they reached the crest line
caused them to fall back. The battalion remained on
this position a little longer and then retired through
Genly. Byng's section of this company alone had lost

43 men.

Then followed a long and tiring march as rearguard
across the French frontier to Bermeries, which the batta-
lion reached at 10.30 p.m. Despite the weariness of the
men they marched very steadily, and on the following day
covered about thirty-five miles to Inchy. They had left
Bermeries at 5 a.m. and arrived at Inchy about 6.15 p.m.
It began to pour with rain as the battalion reached the
northern side of Inchy. This was the worst day of the
retreat. The men were all deadbeat and suffering badly
from sore feet. Two of the companies, X and Y, were
put on outpost duty. The French maps had been handed
in on the 22nd, when only Belgian ones were retained ;
and, consequently, the men were compelled to operate in
an unknown country. The night, in a spiteful mood,
sent alternate downpours and high wind. Not far to the
north the sky was lit by the flames of burning houses.

THE ACTION OF AUGUST 26th 43

The cavalry could be heard exchanging shots with the
enemy.

Le Cateau. — About 6 a.m. the battalion fell back
through Inchy. The cavalry had ridden through about
two hours before. The battalion had now reached the
battlefield of Le Cateau. Trenches had been dug the
preceding day south of Inchy by civilian labour, but as
they faced the wrong way the battalion had to begin
digging feverishly. They had only been engaged between
half and three-quarters of an hour when the battle began.
The Northumberland Fusiliers took over the trenches and
the Royal Fusiliers moved back into support. A little
distance behind the firing line, and roughly parallel to it,
was a sunken lane. The battalion was moving into it
when a sudden burst of shrapnel caught them. Second
Lieutenant Sampson was wounded, one man was killed,
and about 20 to 25 were wounded. A slight panic resulted,
but the cool and firm handling of Mallock brought the men
speedily under control. For the remainder of the battle
the men had a comparatively good time. The cookers
were in Troisville and a hot meal was obtained. About
250 yards in the rear of the lane were two batteries of
artillery and, as a result, shells from both sides continually
crossed overhead, but without doing any damage.

The Retreat resumed. — About 1 p.m. there was a
short lull, and then came a sudden burst of firing about half
a mile to the right. It was about 2 p.m., and the Germans
could be seen passing through the British lines. Shortly
after this the order was given to retire. The Royal Fusiliers
had had a good rest and Colonel McMahon, whose coolness,
clearness and decision had meant so much to the battalion,
was now ordered to command the rearguard to the
3rd Division with the 4th Battalion ; and half the Royal
Scots Fusiliers were placed under his orders. The roads
leading south were packed with the retreating troops in
considerable confusion. The rearguard formed up in
front of the junction of two converging roads until the
confused mass had streamed past, and then fell back in

44 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

perfect order in a series of extended lines. The Germans
had learned a new caution and when pursuit would have
been perhaps decisive, none was made. The attempt had
been made to separate the two corps ; but when it was
virtually achieved there followed the inexplicable failure
to exploit the success. The 4th Battalion marched
through a village at attention, arms sloped and fours
dressed. They were seen about this time by General
Hamilton, the Commander of the 3rd Division, who, no
doubt, contrasting the disorderly retreat of the garrison
of the firing line, could not resist exclaiming, " Well done,
Fusiliers ! "

The battalion marched on till about 2 a.m. on the 27th,
when a halt was made by the roadside until 3.30, when the
retreat was resumed. They reached Hargicourt about
10 a.m., and after an hour's rest marched on again as
rearguard to Vermand, where they arrived at 6.30 p.m.
With the exception of about two and a half hours' rest
they had had twenty-eight hours' continuous marching.
Shortly after midnight they were on the move once more.
Ham was reached at 9.30 a.m., and after a short halt the
battalion fell back once more to Crissoles. Arriving at
6.30 p.m., the men were billeted and had a rest and hot food.
On the next day, Saturday, the battalion moved out
again as rearguard to the division. Here the country is
well wooded and the Fusiliers could see several Uhlan
patrols. In front of a large forest they were even able
to shoot two Uhlans who proved over-venturesome. At
dusk the battalion fell back through the wood and marched
all night via Noyons to Cuts, and, after a short halt, to
Montois. On arrival at Montois at 7 a.m., on Sunday the
30th, the battalion rested and did not leave the village
till twenty-four hours later. Leaving Montois at 7 a.m.
the battalion arrived after a hot march through woods
at Vauciennes, midway between Villers-Cotterets and
Crepy on the national road to Paris. They were billeted
in a sugar factory, which did not leave very comfortable
recollections behind it. The battalion was once more

FARTHEST SOUTH, SEPTEMBER 5th 45

rearguard when it marched south at dawn on September
1st to Bouillancy. Starting at 4.30 a.m. on the following
day they arrived at Penchard, on the main road to Meaux,
at 2 p.m., and placed outposts for the brigade. On
September 3rd the battalion passed through Meaux to
Le Mans Farm, where much wholesome food was obtained.
At 1 p.m. on the following day the Fusiliers were ordered
out to take up a defensive position south of La Haute
Maison ; and at n p.m. the march was resumed to
Chatres, which was reached at 7 a.m. on September 5th.
It was the southernmost point of the Fusiliers.

Despite their ordeal at Mons the battalion had suffered
comparatively little, and the fatigue and hardships of the
long retreat had not weakened their spirit. And when on
Sunday morning the order came to advance once more, it
was certainly received with a sigh of relief. It was exactly
a fortnight since the men had first found contact with the
German troops and they were anxious to resume that
inconclusive encounter. They had been rearguard during
the retreat. Now they marched as advance guard, moving
at first with the uncertainty that characterised the British
Army's entry into the battle of the Marne. About 10 a.m.
they passed the First Corps, and at 7 p.m. reached billets
in Lumigny. The advance was resumed on the following
day at 12 noon, on crowded roads, to La Martroy,* where,
at 7 p.m., the battalion billeted. Two hours before the
battalion had passed through Coulommiers, where signs
of the German occupation were in evidence though the
trains were again running. At La Martroy the Fusiliers
received their second reinforcements, Second Lieutenant
Hughes and 93 men.

Leaving La Martroy at 6 a.m. on the 8th the division
first achieved contact with the enemy at Orly, where they

* It is perhaps useful to point out that officers' diaries frequently
differ as to the places reached. Thus, on Sunday, August 30th, the
battalion halted at Montois ; but some diaries give this as Vic, about
a mile north. Similarly, Vaumoise is cited instead of Vauciennes, close
by ; La Bretonniere instead of La Martroy. The places given in this
chapter are those at which battalion headquarters rested.

46 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

were held up for some hours, so that the battalion only
reached Les Faucheres at 8 p.m.

On the following day the Royal Fusiliers crossed the
Marne unopposed ; and, though not engaged in the day's
fighting, were on outpost duty all night and lay in the
trenches. On September ioth the battalion came into con-
tact with the enemy at Veuilly. The men were tired after
the outposts, and a cold rain set in. But about 9 a.m. the
cavalry brought information that the German rearguard,
about two miles ahead, was breakfasting ; and the Royal
Fusiliers went forward at once. Lieutenant Steele's
platoon was first engaged, and Lieutenant Longman was
sent up as a reinforcement. A sharp engagement followed,
in which 5 men were killed, 29 wounded, and Lieutenants
Tower, Beazley, Jackson and Longman were wounded, the
first two severely. The rearguard was quickly overcome
and, in conjunction with the Scots Fusiliers, the battalion
captured 600 prisoners and the machine gun which had
inflicted most of the wounds on Y Company. With four
more officers wounded and two, Captain Whinney and
Lieutenant Barton sick, the command of the battalion
was seriously weakened. On the following day the
battalion arrived at Grand Rozoy at 1 p.m., and the day
was memorable as the first on which firing had not been
heard. The Germans had fallen back hurriedly. Small
bodies were encountered in the woods south of Brenelle on
the 12th ; but they were quickly put to flight and the
battalion billeted in Brenelle.

The Aisne.— On the 13th the battle of the Marne
began to merge into the battle of the Aisne. The bridges
had been blown up, and when the battalion reached
Vailly their only means of crossing was by a narrow plank
which wobbled very suggestively as the men went across.
A position had to be taken up to the left of Rouge Maison
Farm. When the battalion approached the spot it was
pitch dark and pouring with rain. X and Z Companies
pushed forward and took up an outpost line, just after
midnight, on the Rouge Maison Spur. The other two

THE AISNE, SEPTEMBER 14TH 47

companies occupied a hollow road in the rear ; and all
spent a very wet night in the open. The importance of
this bold advance in the dark was not realised at the
moment ; but it soon became apparent from the German
efforts to dislodge the Fusiliers from their position. The
morning of the 14th dawned wet and foggy ; and it was
at once seen that the depth of the battalion's advance had
been too great for the extent of its hold on the plateau.
One of Byng's posts was so close to the enemy main line
that the Germans could be clearly heard talking. The
two forward companies began to extend their line towards
the left, W and Y being sent forward to support them.
As W advanced to support X it was discovered that there
was a trench about 300 yards from their right, and the
company wheeled to face it. A patrol sent forward was
immediately fired upon, and the position had hardly been
disclosed before the battalion on the right was seen to
be retiring. The Germans immediately profited by this
mischance to take the Fusiliers' right flank in enfilade
with machine guns, and many casualties were suffered.
Cole and Hobbs fell at once. The whole of the plateau
now came under rifle, machine gun and shell fire, with the
support of which the Germans attacked. Byng moved
too far to the left and Ashburner, who had now resumed
command of Y Company, ceased to follow and moved to
support W. Ashburner's company was ordered to move
to the cover of the steep bank west of the road and remain
in reserve. These positions were held till nightfall, when
the losses of the day were seen to have been extremely
heavy. Captains Byng, Cole and Attwood and Lieutenant
Hobbs were killed, Lieutenant Orred wounded, and 200
other ranks were killed or wounded. The battalion had
been compelled to readjust their position and reconcen-
trate about the sunken road west of the farm.

Two platoons of X Company occupied Rouge Maison
Farm that night, and beat off an attack with rifle fire and
the bayonet. During the 15th the battalion clung to its
positions, retiring from the farm during the day, but

48 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

reoccupying it at night with a platoon of X Company. It
was attacked during the night, but the Germans were
beaten off, a few of them being ejected from the farm at
the point of the bayonet. The night was very wet, and the
battalion was in no enviable position ; but during the three
following days they were little disturbed and the position
was strengthened. German shells continually shrieked
overhead as the enemy devoted himself to the bombard-
ment of Vailly.

On the 19th a very heavy bombardment began about
2.30 p.m. The British artillery was outranged, and made
no effective reply. After a particularly severe shelling
of the whole battalion front at short range, the Germans
attacked about 6 p.m. with great determination. They
were beaten off with heavy loss, and one party, losing
direction in the darkness, offered its flank to the Fusiliers,
who were not slow to take advantage. Before the barrier
in front of one small part of X Company 25 German
dead were counted. The battalion suffered 50 casualties
during the day. At dawn on " Alma " day the attack
was resumed, and a heavy howitzer was brought to within
800 yards of the position, and, taking it in enfilade, caused
several casualties. Two field guns had also been
entrenched within 500 yards of the trenches, and the
battalion's position in the salient was becoming precarious
when the British artillery began to give effective support.
The howitzer had to be withdrawn. The attack was
beaten off, and although Second Lieutenant Hughes and
about 20 other ranks were killed and wounded, the
Germans suffered more heavily. At 5 p.m. the Lincoln-
shires relieved the Royal Fusiliers, who went back to Vailly
after having been in the trenches for seven days and
eight nights. Their total casualties were 5 officers and
300 men ; but their work again had been of a very high
quality, and they were the recipients of warm praise from
the brigade and divisional commanders.*

* " The commanding officer received last night from General
Hamilton, commanding 3rd Division, and from General Shaw, com-

ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST BATTALION 49

In the early hours of the morning of the 21st the
battalion, relieved in Vailly, moved to Courcelles. During
the afternoon Sir John French visited them in billets, and
complimented them.* On the following day Sir Horace
Smith-Dorrien came to Courcelles to add his own appre-
ciation of the Fusiliers' work. During this rest two drafts
arrived, and the battalion was brought approximately
up to strength, and at 9 p.m. relieved the Royal Irish
in trenches on the south-west side of the Rouge Maison
Spur. This tour of the trenches was uneventful, and on
the evening of October 2nd the battalion was relieved,
marched south through Braisnes, and billeted north of
Servenay after a trek of sixteen miles.

5jS *JC 5(5 *p

Meanwhile the 1st Battalion under Lieut.-Colonel
R. Fowler-Butler had reached the Aisne and made their
debut in the war. They were in Ireland on August 4th,
but by mid- August had arrived at Cambridge, and reached
St. Nazaire during the advance to the Aisne. They left
Courcelles two days before the 4th Battalion went into
billets there, on relief after their tenure of the Rouge
Maison salient. On the 21st, as the latter battalion were
coming out of the line for a rest, they marched from
Dhuizel to trenches north of Soupir, via Vieil Arcy, St.
Mard, Cys and Chavonne. The brigade (17th) front

manding gth Brigade, emphatic expressions of their appreciation of the
splendid service rendered by the battalion during the eight days' close
fighting just concluded. From the warm terms of praise used by the
divisional and brigade commanders the CO. thinks it may be assumed
that the battalion has earned some measure of distinction in these
operations, and feels that this recognition of something achieved for
the country at heavy cost to the regiment, coming, as it does, after
several acknowledgments of good work at Mons, of good marching and
of all-round efficiency, will increase the feeling of pride which all have
in their regiment, and encourage all ranks to earn further distinction
in the future. From his own personal observation, the CO. has been
extremely gratified by the fine bearing and soldierly endurance of the
battalion during the campaign. Every effort must be made to main-
tain, and even to improve upon, this high standard. — (Signed) N. R.
McMahon, Lieut.-Colonel."

* " No troops in the world could have done better than you have.
England is proud of you, and I am proud of you."

F. E

50 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

stretched between the canal at Fort de Metz and the road
at La Cour de Soupir. At the latter place lay the
Leinsters, with the Royal Fusiliers on their right. Their
first tour of the trenches was comparatively uneventful.
On the part of the line where they lay the periodical
rumour that the Germans were abandoning their positions
resulted in the only casualties suffered in the first
acquaintance with the enemy. Where the 4th Battalion
had stood it was quite evident that the Germans were
still in possession ; and, indeed, even on the Soupir
section the 1st Battalion were sufficiently certified of
the enemy's tenure of the trenches 300 yards distant by
observation from the branches of a tree. But some of
the higher powers proved sceptical, and patrols were
ordered out. On the night of the 22nd Captain Howlett
was wounded, and 2 other ranks were killed, 13 wounded,
and 3 missing after one of these feelers. A daylight
patrol on the 27th resulted in 17 O.R. being killed and
12 wounded. Apart from these two unfortunately
successful attempts to test the strength of the German
trench garrison, the first tour of the trenches was unevent-
ful. They were relieved on October 1st, and were billeted
in Dhuizel. On the 4th they relieved General de Lisle's
cavalry brigade as corps troops at Chassemy, a lively spot
near the Conde bridge, held by the Germans. The bridge
consisted of only a few planks across the broken section ;
but the enemy had also two or three boats on the river,
and the approach to the battalion's position became
possible only after dark. On the evening of the 6th the
battalion marched south to follow the 4th Battalion in
the gradual movement of the British Army to the northern
flank.

CHAPTER III

FLANDERS — LA BASSEE, ARMENTIERES, YPRES

By the end of the second week in October the ist and
4th Battalions were both in Flanders, moving among
places which saw more of the British troops during the
war than any others. But the condition of the two bat-
talions was very different. The ist Battalion was one over
strength in officers on the Aisne ; the 4th required a draft of
11 officers to bring it within sight of full strength. Junior
officers who had attained exalted rank returned to their
platoons, and the battalion marched, with little interval,
into the thick of a hot battle. The atmosphere of the
struggle had changed, and the troops got their first
experience of village fighting.

On October 12th the 4th Battalion moved towards
Vieille Chapelle along roads almost blocked by French
cavalry. They were in divisional reserve, and remained
so until the 15th, when they moved forward towards the
Estaires-Neuve Chapelle road. The battalion attacked
through Pont du Hem, W and X Companies being in the
front line ; and easily brushed aside the cavalry screen in
front of them. The advance was resumed on the following
day to the Rue d'Enfer, where the enemy were found
holding houses, and at dusk a halt was made on a line
extending from Trivolet (W, Captain Swifte), along Rue
d'Enfer, to Moulin du Pietre (X, Carey). There had
been little resistance, and the few casualties suffered were
due to snipers.

Herlies. — Aubers had been evacuated during the
night, and the battalion entered it unopposed on the
morning of the 17th ; but there some German cavalry

E 2

52 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

were encountered advancing from Fromelles. The bat-
talion was on the left of the division, with its flank
supposed to be covered by French cavalry. The advance
of the German cavalry delayed the march upon Herlies,
which was found to be held in some strength. Captain
Swift, with W Company, marched direct upon it by the
Aubers-Herlies road, while Colonel McMahon took the
other three companies through Le Plouich and Le Riez.
The Lincolns, on the right of the Fusiliers, moved due
eastwards ; and under this converging attack the Germans
were forced out of the village. At about 6.30 p.m.
Colonel McMahon entered from the north as Swift, with
the Lincolns, was pushing the enemy out at the point of
the bayonet. W Company lost Lieutenant Hodges,
killed, and about 10 other casualties. An outpost line
was taken up from Le Petit Riez to the southern outskirts
of Herlies. The houses were searched, and a few Germans
were discovered.

The division had now reached an uneasy equilibrium
with the German forces on their front, and no further
advance was possible. The 18th was spent in strengthen-
ing the positions, all of which came under a heavy bom-
bardment from field and heavy guns. About 5 p.m. the
battalions on the right and left of the Royal Fusiliers, the
Scots Fusiliers and the Royal Irish, attacked after a
preliminary bombardment. The Germans at once replied.
Captain Waller, Lieutenants Cooper, Gorst and Longman,
all of Z Company, were at this time having tea in a farm
at Petit Riez, near their trenches. The three first ran out
to see what was happening. Longman stayed behind ; and
a shell fell upon the farm, burst in the room and killed
him as he sat at table, a tragic end to a life of much
promise.

During the morning of the following day the 8th Brigade
took over Le Grand Riez, thus enabling the battalion to
contract their front. The Fusiliers supported by their
fire an attack on Le Pilly made in the afternoon by the
18th Royal Irish. The latter reached the station with

HERLIES, SEPTEMBER, 1914 53

heavy loss, but were counter-attacked after an intense
bombardment and suffered more casualties. During the
night Lieutenant Moxon's platoon was sent to the support
of the Royal Irish in Le Pilly — it was all the help that
could be given — and the Northumberland Fusiliers took
over the position south of Herlies. The 4th Middlesex
also relieved Z Company in Le Petit Riez. The Royal
Fusiliers now held the west side of Herlies from the Le
Pilly road. About 7 a.m. on the 20th a violent bombard-
ment of Herlies with heavy guns began, and the town was
speedily reduced to ruins. The only building left intact
was the convent behind the church. The German infantry
followed this up by repeated attempts to penetrate the
village, which now lay at the angle of a narrow salient.
About 9 a.m. the Northumberland Fusiliers reported
determined attempts to outflank them on the southern
boundaries of Herlies, and Captain Carey was sent up
with a company to attempt to relieve the pressure by
initiating an outflanking movement towards Moxon's
position. They had to advance over the open, which was
now covered by shell fire, and they lost very heavily. Carey
was severely wounded by a shell splinter. Moxon had
sustained a serious wound in the head. But a platoon
reached his position. Ashburner was wounded by a shell
splinter in Herlies.

About 1 p.m. Z Company was sent back to prepare a
second position. The struggle grew more bitter, and about
4 p.m. half a battalion of Royal Scots was sent to Colonel
McMahon to reinforce Herlies. During the night the
Northumberland Fusiliers were relieved by the Scots
Fusiliers. W and Y Companies still held their positions
on the west of Herlies, but the French had evacuated
Fromelles ; and in the afternoon the battalion was ordered
to abandon Herlies. During the night the retirement was
carried out to a position between Haut Pommereau and
Le Plouich. The movement was unnoticed by the enemy,
who continued to shell Herlies long after the battalion
had left. The fighting in and about this village resulted

54 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

in 5 officers and 150 other ranks being killed and wounded.
The 22nd was spent in organising the new position, when
orders were received to retire some four miles further
back. No transport was available for much of the ammu-
nition and rations, and they had to be abandoned. After a
night march the battalion reached Pont du Hem at 4 a.m.
on the 23rd and went into divisional reserve. They had
been farther east than any British troops were destined
to be for nearly four years ; but the enemy was too strong
for the position to be maintained.

Armentieres. — Meanwhile the 1st Battalion had
become involved in the battle of Armentieres, which
embodied that series of encounters that took place on the
left flank of the battle of La Bassee. They started to rejoin
the brigade at Merris on the 14th and had to march single
file because of the congestion on the road. The conditions
of this march are sufficiently indicated by the fact that
part of the platoon under Goodliffe had to be detached to
rescue the car of General Keir (O.C. VI. Division), which
had run into snipers holding a farm about 500 yards off
the road. The car was restored with little trouble, though
it was nervous work in the dark ; and the battalion were
settling down into bivouacs when another platoon was
ordered to capture a gun which had flung two shells into
the middle of the square formation. It was thought to be
300 yards distant, but was eventually estimated to be
about 1,000 yards farther off. On the next day they
moved to Bac St. Maur. They were compelled to wait
several hours in the road, and the men were constantly
found swaying with sleep as they stood. Several horses
even fell down in the road asleep. The battalion was near
the limit of its endurance. If the crossing had been
defended in force it is difficult to imagine what would
have happened ; and the delay was due to the fact that
on the first approach a number of shots had been fired
across the river. At length some of the R.E. got across,
swung back the central section, and the battalion crossed
by the bridge.

L'EPINETTE, SEPTEMBER, 1914 55

They billeted at La Chapelle d'Armentieres on the
following day, and on the 18th marched in support of the
Rifle Brigade to test the strength of the enemy at Paren-
chies and Premesques, preparatory to the movement of
the III. Corps up the Lys. At 2 p.m. the battalion went
up on the left flank of the Rifle Brigade, who were held up
at the Halt before Parenchies. The Fusiliers advanced on
L'Epinette, where a hot fire was encountered. It was
there that an attempt was made to rescue the people from
a burning farm; but when an entry was at last forced
through a window no one could be found. The Germans
were pressed back slightly, but Captain Palairet and
Lieutenant Cooper were wounded and 4 other ranks
were killed, 27 wounded, and 4 missing. It was difficult
to move without coming under fire, and the wonder is
that more casualties were not sustained. The battalion
settled at night in a deep dyke.

Two minor attacks, chiefly on the Rifle Brigade, took
place during the night, and at 9 a.m. (20th) a rush was
made for a gap between that regiment and the Fusiliers.
During the rest of the day the positions were subjected to
bombardment and sniping ; and Lieutenant Scholefield
was wounded while crawling to obtain touch with the Rifle
Brigade. The battalion were ordered to retire their
positions slightly during the night, and the move was
successfully carried out without molestation by the light
of burning houses. Another feeble attack took place
on the 21st after a desultory bombardment, and though
this was easily beaten off, two officers, Fisher and Gals-
worthy, were wounded. The battalion were relieved on
the 23rd after a short but costly German attack. The
machine guns caught the Germans at a range of some 500
yards in the open. On relief the Fusiliers marched back
to Armentieres, having to take cover from a heavy out-
burst of firing on the way, and thence south to the Rue
Petillon, which lies about two and a half miles north-east
of Fromelles, from which place the French had retired
three days before, as we have seen. In this position they

56 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

were on the zone connecting the battlefields of Armentieres
and La Bassee.

* * * *

The 4th Battalion had not long to rest. On the 24th
they received an urgent order to fall in and to retake some
trenches which had been lost by a battalion of the 8th
Brigade. There was no staff officer to show which were
the trenches, and Colonel McMahon was informed that the
Germans were in a wood. A company was just forming
up to take the wood at the point of the bayonet when an
officer of the Royal Scots came up and said that his regi-
ment had reoccupied the trenches and that no Germans
were found. Nerves seemed to wear thin in these days.

The battalion returned to billets only to be summoned
out once more — noon, October 25th — to retake lost
trenches. The battalion moved to the Rue du Bacquerot,
and Y Company was ordered to move thence to the
Fleurbaix-Neuve Chapelle road. The remainder of the
battalion moved south to Pont Logy, about 1,000 yards
due west of Neuve Chapelle. Two companies attacked
from this point in a north-easterly direction, thus pre-
senting a flank to Neuve Chapelle. Y Company, on the
north, advanced across the open under a heavy shrapnel
fire. The two companies at Pont Logy also came under
heavy fire, but suffered few casualties until they
approached the outskirts of Neuve Chapelle, the northern
houses of which the Germans had occupied. There was
no artillery support, and Sir Francis Waller was mortally
wounded in leading his company (Z) in a gallant charge
against the enemy positions. After a severe struggle, in
which many losses were sustained, the lost trenches were
reoccupied. Neuve Chapelle was cleared, and two field
guns, which had been abandoned, were recaptured.
Colonel McMahon was ordered to leave two companies
and to return the other two to billets. Y Company was
left in the firing line, with two platoons of Z in close
support and two platoons in reserve. Major Mallock was
left in charge of these companies.

NEUVE CHAPELLE, OCTOBER, 1914 57

On the following day the Germans attacked ; and at
about 2 p.m. the two companies were brought up from
billets to support. Some of the trenches recaptured
by the battalion had been taken in an overwhelming
onslaught in which the Germans pressed up to the
parapets ; and a determined attempt was made during
the night to recapture them. This engagement was
one of the fiercest in which the battalion had taken
part, and the attack was not only unsuccessful, but
resulted in many casualties, including 8 officers. Sergeant
Osborne, who was sent back by Gorst, had the utmost
difficulty in getting away. The Germans were then at
the trench parapets, and the Fusiliers fought there till they
fell. On the 27th another attempt was made to recapture
the lost positions, in conjunction with the remains of
six battalions. Two companies of Chausseurs Alpins
co-operated with the Fusiliers, and, after very severe
hand-to-hand fighting, the trenches were almost recovered,
when the weight of the battalion was too light to retain the
positions. They were compelled to fall back to a new
line. Two officers were among the heavy casualties of
this day, and the battalion was reduced to some 8 officers
and 350 other ranks. Major Mallock, who was seriously
wounded in this attack; was a heavy loss. Second in
command, he had been to the fore in every action from
Mons to this moment.

The battalion were relieved on the night of the 29th and
marched to Merris via Vieille Chapelle and Doulieu.
Several drafts were received, and on November 4th the
battalion was inspected at Bailleul by Sir Horace Smith-
Dorrien and warmly complimented. The terms of this
speech deserve record. As remembered by Captain
R. H. C. Routley, they were as follows : —

" I asked Colonel McMahon to bring you into this small
yard because I wanted to express to you my admiration
for the work that your regiment, under his leadership, has
been doing.

" I have asked you to come in here because one can

58 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

hear better, and I shall be very glad if you will let it be
known to the men later on.

' I simply cannot find words enough to express my
admiration for the way in which your regiment has
behaved. All through the campaign up to now they have
had the hardest work of any regiment in the brigade, and
any work they have had to do they have carried out
exceedingly well. In fact, I can safely say that there is
no better regiment in the British Army than the Royal
Fusiliers.

" I may add that I am the officer who writes the King's
diary every day, and the work of your regiment has been
specially mentioned in it ; and I can tell you that, when
this war is over, you will have special mention made when
you get home.

" Now I must say a few words about your colonel, who
stands here with us. Of course you know quite well that
he has recently been promoted to a brigade, but the work
he has done with the regiment has been so valuable, and
so well done, that we cannot spare him to take up the
position he ought to be now occupying, and, therefore,
I am here to tell you — and I'm afraid it will be a great
disappointment to you — that, instead of the seven or
eight days' rest you were looking forward to at Bailleul,
I am very much afraid that in another twenty-four or
forty-eight hours you will find yourselves back in the
trenches again.

" You will remember a short time back General French
came up and especially and personally thanked Colonel
McMahon and your regiment for the work done, and it
was the only regiment he thanked on that day in the
whole division.

" So, when you get back, I will ask you to thank the
men from me for all they have done."

Ypres. — General Smith-Dorrien's warning was soon
fulfilled. On the night of November 6th the battalion
took over the positions from the 6th Cavalry Brigade,
east of Hooge, on the south side of the Ypres-Menin road.
They had some difficulty in reaching their positions as the
roads about Ypres were blocked with the traffic. But

THE BATTLE OF YPRES 59

they settled down on the edge of Herenthage Wood with
Zouaves on their left and the Northumberland Fusiliers
on their right. Almost at once the battalion, now so
weak, became merged in the great crisis of Ypres.
On November 7th the Zouaves were blown out of their
trenches. On the following day the shelling continued all
day, and several minor attacks were beaten off. The most
serious blow fell upon Y Company, but was dealt with
summarily. But the Zouaves were forced back, and the
Germans got into the wood, round the Fusiliers' open flank.
Stapleton Bretherton and Jackson, with half of Y Company,
delivered a violent counter-attack and penetrated to the
German trenches. Very few of these gallant fellows came
back. The two officers and 62 men were seen no more.
But, thanks to this charge and the advance of the West
Ridings, the line was restored.

On the nth came the last attempt of the Germans to
cut through to the coast. The attack was expected ; the
battalion order issued before it took place is notable.
The order, which was to be read to companies, ran as
follows : —

" It may be assumed that we are about to fight the
decisive battle of the war. The German Emperor has
arrived to command his troops in person, and Sir John
French hopes that the British Army will prove to him that
they are better men than the Germans. Both armies are
composed of regiments more or less exhausted, and short
of officers, and the result will depend very much on the
prolonged energy of every soldier in the fight and the
endurance shown during the next few days. Fire must be
carefully controlled at night, men must assist to the last,
be ready to cover every movement with fire, well aimed
and well sustained, and there must be no straggling or
straying from the platoons to which men belong. The
CO. hopes that every man will sustain the great reputa-
tion that the Royal Fusiliers have already made during

this war.

(Signed) " G. O'Donel,

" Captain and Adjutant."

60 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The morning dawned dull and misty, and about 6.30
a terrible shelling began, " much the most severe I
(O'Donel) have ever seen." It continued for two and a
half hours. The front trenches were knocked to pieces,
and many of the men were killed or buried. Routley, in
command, tried to send back a report of the plight of his
men, but it was impossible to live in such a bombardment.
Then followed the infantry attack by the twelve battalions
of the Guard Division. The 4th (Queen Augusta's) Guard
Grenadiers seem to have struck the Royal Fusiliers, and
the little band of men received the first assault with the
bayonet and hurled it back. Routley, about this time,
was the only officer left, and he was wounded in the head.
The Grenadiers delivered a second charge. Some of the
men were driven from their trenches, and their appearance
in the rear created a panic among the battalion supports,
who appear to have been chiefly special reservists, a draft
who arrived on the day before the battle and had not yet
been organised into their platoons. Colonel McMahon
went to them and tried to rally them. Suddenly he was
seen to sink on one knee and begin to remove his legging
as though hit in the leg. At that moment a shell burst
close to him and killed him. He was a most gallant and
distinguished officer, who impressed all who came into
contact with him. " A Royal Fusilier," he said to the
battalion on the eve of embarkation, " does not fear
death. He is not afraid of wounds. He only fears
disgrace ; and I look to you not to disgrace the name of
the regiment." Not merely the battalion and the regi-
ment, but the army as a whole, lost by his death.

Part of the West Ridings had also been driven from
their trenches, but a determined counter-attack on both
sides of the Ypres-Menin road by the Sussex and Scots
Fusiliers drove the German Guard back with heavy loss
and partly restored the line. At 1 p.m. the remainder of
the Royal Fusiliers were very much disorganised and
scattered. In the evening only O'Donel and Second
Lieutenant Maclean, with 50 men, could be collected. The

YPRES, NOVEMBER, 1914 61

night was very wet, and the fighting died down but little.
On the following day about 100 men were collected and
withdrawn, but they were back again in the firing line
during the evening in support of the Scots Fusiliers and
Lincolns. On the 13th they were still in support with
the two officers and 170 men. Next day under German
pressure they were compelled to retire slightly. On the
15th, wet and tired out, they were still holding on in the
rain and snow. But on the following day (November 16th)
they went into divisional reserve at Hooge. The attack
by the Imperial Guard had petered out without achieving
its objective.

On the 20th they relieved the King's Own Scottish

Borderers, south of Hooge, in heavy snow ; but on the

following night they handed over to the French, marched

to Westoutre through Ypres, and billeted. It was now

freezing hard, and the men's feet were beginning to suffer.

At night on the 21st Major Hely Hutchinson arrived to

take over command, with Captains Lee, Pipon and

Magnay from the 1st Battalion. A draft of 300 special

reservists arrived, and companies were reorganised and

given some training. But on the 27th the battalion had

to take over the trenches at Kemmel from the Norfolks.

It was the last test to apply to men so little accustomed to

warfare ; but the days were critical, and such risks had

to be taken. Major Hely Hutchinson had to deal with

some serious cases of nerves, but under his firm hand the

unit settled down, and spent three days in the trenches.

On the night of the 30th they were relieved by the Gordons,

and marched to Westoutre to billets. The trenches had

been wet, and many of the men had bad feet. Moreover,

the shortage of N.C.O.'s made discipline a little slack.

One can hardly wonder at this. The battalion had been

wiped out twice since the opening of the war. In these

four months they had lost 1.900 N.C.O.'s and men and

over 50 officers, killed, wounded, sick, and missing.

These figures must surely be unique ! At any rate, there

were not sufficient troops available in these early months

62 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

to allow more than a few units to renew themselves three

times.

* * * *

The march southwards of the ist Battalion on October
23rd had taken them once more to within a short distance
of the 4th, who at that time were withdrawing from the
advanced positions in the Aubers area. The ist only
arrived about Fleurbaix at 6 a.m. on the 23rd, very tired
and sleepy, and on reaching Rue Petillon they were
accommodated, some in houses and some in ditches.
Their orders were to support the right of the Welsh
Fusiliers ; but some Indian troops had arrived there
first. The Sikhs lost their two British officers on the
25th, and the Fusiliers found them " jumpy " neighbours.
A good deal of firing went on, especially during the night,
and the ist Battalion, after being compelled to stand to
night after night, at length took over the bulk of their
trenches. There were heavy losses from the German
bombardment. But the rhythm of the struggle had
changed to that of trench warfare. On November 5th
there were 20 casualties from the persistent shelling.
Snipers, too, became obtrusive. On the 9th a German shell
secured a direct hit on a trench. A gunner observer was
killed and three men were wounded. Sergeant Tuersley
was wounded in assisting Corporal Taimer, who had been
hit, but continued to help him though the trench was
still under fire. Three days later, at about 3.30 a.m., a
dug-out in which Captain H. J. Shaw was sleeping was
knocked in, and when the earth was removed he was
dead.

The trenches now became ankle and even knee-deep
in mud. The Germans were only about 150 yards away,
and they won the approval of the Fusiliers by a rough
attempt at sportsmanlike behaviour. Frequently they
would call out, " Hullo, Cock Robin ! " and at night,
" Look out, you English swine — we're coming ! ' Then a
volley, followed by " Good-night " and silence. Both
English and Germans put out targets to fire at, and the

THE FIRST WINTER 63

conventions were well observed. It was bitterly cold,
and fires were lit along the trenches, each side ignoring
the smoke. While on tour in the trenches on November
29th coke braziers were issued, and proved very accept-
able. On the following day sheepskins were supplied.
The next day saw Very pistols ; and, little by little, all the
familiar accompaniments of trench warfare appeared.

The 4th Battalion on December 3rd were lined up on
the road for the King's visit. After the terrible experi-
ences of the first four months the year slowed down for
them. But for the 1st Battalion the trench tours were
not without incident. They were occupying a position
with their right on the Rue du Bois, south-east of Armen-
tieres, when they were ordered to co-operate with the
attack of the 4th Division east of Ploegsteert on December
19th. They carried out this role by pinning the enemy
to his trenches by means of bursts of intermittent fire.
The Germans retorted with a bombardment, in which
Captain G. E. Hepburn was wounded and one man killed.
At about 1.30 p.m. on the 20th a number of shells were
thrown upon a farm in which were battalion headquarters
and one platoon. A few sick and some of the headquarters
staff went into the cellar, while the remainder filed into
a trench in the rear. It was an anxious moment, and a
shell went through to the cellar, killing two men and
wounding eight others.

Something akin to a truce fell over the armies on
Christmas Day and the last days of the year. The
trenches were worse than ever. Parapets fell in, and it
was found easier to build new trenches than to drain the
old. The Saxons opposite the 1st Battalion appeared
to be engaged on the same tasks. In the old days armies
went into winter quarters. On the Western Front in
the winter of 1914 they at any rate ceased from major
military operations.

CHAPTER IV

THE FIRST SPRING CAMPAIGN — NEUVE CHAPELLE, YPRES

Early in January of 1915 Lieut. -Colonel Campbell took
over the command of the 4th Battalion, who suffered
much both from the inclemency of the weather and
from avoidable hardships. The trenches were almost
intolerable through mud and water ; and in the rest area
near Ouderdom, early in March, owing to the huts not
being rainproof, the camp became a sea of mud, and
afforded little or no rest to its victims. They also suffered
from the enemy snipers, the battalion losing no less than
58 men within forty-eight hours from hostile rifle fire on
February 23rd. They had, however, the distinction of
being thanked in person by General Sir H. Smith-Dorrien
on March 8th for saving the situation at Ypres.

Previous to this their brigade (the 9th) had been
transferred to the 28th Division to replace the 85th
Brigade, a considerable number of whom went sick after
scarcely ten days in the firing line. Of these the 3rd Royal
Fusiliers had been not a little affected by the vagaries
of climate, having only arrived from India in December.
They lost temporarily about 25 per cent, of their
strength owing to acute bronchial and laryngeal catarrh
on their arrival at Havre, and large numbers had to be
evacuated to hospital with trench feet during February.
But, with the number of those who returned to duty at
the beginning of March and several large drafts, the
battalion attained the fighting strength of 25 officers and
870 other ranks by March 10th.

Neuve Chapelle. — The 3rd Londons had reached
France in January, and on February 17th found them-
selves with the Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut Division

^5* «?

Major-General Sir Reginald Pinney, K.C.B., who commanded

the 23RD Brigade at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle, and

later the 35TH and 33RD Divisions.

THE TERRITORIALS AT NEUVE CHAPELLE 65

at Vieille Chapelle. They were the only Fusilier battalion
to be engaged in the operations against and around Neuve
Chapelle. On March 10th they supported the advance
of the 2nd Leinsters in the Meerut Division's attack on
the south of the village.

A deviation of i/39th Garhwal Rifles to the right caused
that regiment to encounter the enemy's line beyond the
part where the wire had been destroyed by our artillery
fire, and in this fashion a gap of some 200 yards was left
unaccounted for, with the result that the Germans with
the aid of machine guns maintained a steady resistance at
this point, which was finally reduced about 6 o'clock in
the evening.

The way in which that point was won will not easily be
forgotten by the 3rd Londons. The battalion were in brigade
reserve, and by 3.30 a.m. had taken up position behind a
long breastwork, in the rear of the trenches along the
Estaires-La Bassee road. The country still looked beautiful
as the day broke. It was snowing a little, but the fearful
din of the bombardment put every other thought out of the
heads of these young soldiers as they lay huddled up behind
their sandbags for their first battle experience. The roars
and barks of the guns were accompanied by the easily
distinguishable ping of the bullets. At 8.5 a.m. the
infantry advanced and the 3rd Londons moved up to the
forward trenches to take their place. Two companies
went forward to support the left of the attack, and the
other two proceeded to a circular breastwork, on the right
of the trench line, known as " Port Arthur."

It was about 8.30 a.m. that the first two companies
advanced with the 1st Seaforths and a company of the
Garhwal Rifles to support the left flank. A Company was
ordered to take a house at the corner of the village, which
was reported to have a garrison of about twelve Germans.
The order was given to charge and the men at once came
under a terrible fire. There were, in fact, almost a com-
plete company of Germans well provided with machine
guns. Captain Pulman fell almost at once with about

66 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

ten or a dozen men. There was a momentary hesitation
in the rest of the company. Lieutenant Mathieson, one
of the gayest and best beloved of their officers, then
pushed forward, shouting, with his infectious smile,
" Come on, boys ; don't be shy ! " Few, except those in
his immediate neighbourhood could hear him. But they
saw the gesture and sprang forward. In a few seconds he
fell, shot through the head, and died almost immediately.
They lost indeed terribly, but somehow they won through
and helped on the battle a little.

The other two companies remained in " Port Arthur,"
the ruined part-skeleton of some farm building, buttressed
with walls of earth and sandbags, with machine guns
mounted upon them. At 2 p.m. only one officer had
escaped in A Company ; and at 5 p.m. the order came that
this obdurate German trench that made a gap in the line
must be taken. The men climbed over the breastwork
in full view of the enemy to cross some 200 yards of open
country, pitted by shells and strewn with dead, in a frontal
charge on the German position. With bayonets at the
charge they rushed across the open, cheering as they went.
Lieutenant Crichton was one of the first in the open and,
stepping in front of his platoon, he cried, " Follow me."
He fell after a few yards, shot in the leg. One or two men
ran to help him, but he struggled to his feet and, shouting
" Charge ! " went on again. He was wounded again, this
time mortally. Half the men who went across that space
became casualties. Men fell on all sides, but the charge
continued, and at length they rushed the German trench
and the gap was healed. " It was the finest charge I ever
saw," said an Indian officer. After the charge the wounded
trickled back to " Port Arthur," where the colonel and
another officer attended to them. One of these wounded
boys said to his officer with a smile, " They can't call us
Saturday night soldiers now, can they, sir ? "

Captains Livingston and Moore remained in the cap-
tured position for four days, and had to repel a German
counter-attack. It was during this period that Acting-

NEUVE CHAPELLE, MARCH, 1915 67

Sergeant W. Allen won the D.C.M. He was out on a
reconnoitring patrol on the night of March 13th and dis-
covered three small bridges laid down by the enemy for
their advance. These he removed, which caused the
Germans to be held up in their counter-attack, when they
were met by machine guns. This action was a splendid
opening of the Londons' fighting. The 3rd Londons lost
8 officers and 340 other ranks, but they had won their
spurs.

The 4th Londons went into the trenches at Rue des
Berceaux for the first time on the night of March I2th/i3th
and their admirable conduct under most trying conditions
in a totally novel experience won the appreciation of
Major-General H. 0. N. Keary, commanding the Lahore
Division, while visiting the battalion headquarters at

Vieille Chapelle some four days later.

« * * *

It was about this time that the 3rd Royal Fusiliers were in
the trenches east of Kemmel. Orders had been given that
considerable activity had to be shown by the troops in
the trenches. It is probable that no soldier ever welcomed
this order. Attacks are intelligible, but " hates " merely
meant counter-hates. The role of this activity was to
occupy and preoccupy the Germans during the attack at
Neuve Chapelle, but it resulted, as was foreseen, in the
Fusiliers' positions being badly knocked about. On the
night of March 9th battalion headquarters were shelled
and burned. Official correspondence, a machine gun,
rifles and eighty sets of equipment were destroyed. It
was on this occasion that Lieut. -Colonel Guy du Maurier,
D.S.O., was killed. Lance-Corporal Fovargue, who was
at headquarters at the time, stated that they were asleep
when a shell suddenly tore off part of the roof. The colonel
rushed to the doorway, and just as he reached it a shell
fell on the spot and killed him instantly. Colonel du
Maurier was not only an experienced soldier, but also a
dramatist who made a stir with the war play "An English-
man's Home." He was the elder son of Mr. George du

F 2

68 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Maurier, the famous black and white artist, and brother
of Mr. Gerald du Maurier the artist. Lieut. -Colonel A. V.
Johnson, D.S.O.,took over the command of the battalion,
who next saw service in the Ypres area. They took over
trenches from the French with parapets not more than a
foot thick at the top ; " death traps " as a Fusilier officer
aptly termed them.

Second Battle of Ypres. — On April 20th they
moved into the Gravenstafel trenches on the left of the
28th Division. It was not their first visit ; and on the
last occasion they had suffered 72 casualties. On their
left were the Canadians with the French prolonging the
line to the north. The 3rd Battalion reached the trenches
when it was obvious a German attack was pending. The
bombardment of Ypres had begun. Its destruction could
only mean that the enemy were blocking the avenues by
which supports must reach the Ypres sector, and accord-
ingly the command looked for an attack in the general
direction from which, in fact, it came. But its onset was
so unlike any previous assault that for some days the
position was critical, and the Royal Fusiliers went through
a period of unique strain. On the evening of April 22nd
the Germans first released gas on the Western Front, and
the poisonous green cloud swept away part of the French
line on the Canadians' flank. As there was a four-mile gap
in the line the Canadians refused their left. On the 23rd
this flank was becoming more and more involved ; and a
counter-attack was launched east of the Ypres Canal.
Lieut. -Colonel Arthur Percival Birchall, an officer of the
Fusiliers commanding the 4th Ontario Battalion, fell in
this gallant attempt to redeem a lost position. The
battalion came under a very heavy fire and appeared to
waver. Birchall, carrying a light cane, with great calm-
ness and cheerfulness rallied his men, but at the moment
when he had succeeded he was shot dead. He had twice
been wounded, but insisted on continuing with his com-
mand, and he died at the beginning of the last charge
which captured the German shelter trenches and, at least

SECOND YPRES, APRIL, 1915 69

for the moment, arrested the advance. He was recom-
mended for the Victoria Cross.

The 3rd Canadian Brigade, on the left flank, was now
bent back almost at right angles and they lay in this
position when, after a violent bombardment on the
morning of April 24th, the Germans delivered a second
gas attack. It was about 3.30 a.m. ; and the 3rd Brigade,
gassed for a second time, fell back to the south-west of
St. Julien. The 2nd Brigade, on their right, swung round
to conform, and the 3rd Royal Fusiliers were now left
almost at the angle of the line. Attempts were made to
restore the position, but to little purpose ; and on April
25th the Germans attacked the 2nd East Surreys on the
Fusiliers' right. The 3rd Battalion helped to repel this
attack with their machine guns.*

On April 26th the 1st Hants came up to establish
connection on the left of the Royal Fusiliers, and the
2nd Buffs carried out a partial relief ; but in spite of all
the Germans penetrated to the left rear of the Royal
Fusiliers. The battalion's position was almost intolerable.
Even after the Germans were ejected they were " absolutely
plastered with shell and every other kind of fire from three
sides at once the whole time, with practically no assistance
at all from our guns, and nothing could exist or move over
the ground in rear, as every yard of it was plastered with-
out ceasing by enormous shells." f

Late on the afternoon of May 2nd strong bodies of the
enemy had been observed moving from Passchendaele
towards the left trenches, which from that time onwards
suffered very severe bombardment, parts, indeed, being
blown to pieces, necessitating their evacuation. Between
April 22nd and May 3rd, when the line was ordered to
retire, the 3rd Royal Fusiliers had had Lieutenant H. M.
Legge, Second Lieutenants A. Hyam, G. Lambert,
W. Grady, F. Franklin and W. Dunnington- Jefferson and

* " Great slaughter was caused by a machine gun of the 3rd Royal
Fusiliers, under Lieutenant Mallandain " (Conan Doyle, " The British
Campaign in France and Flanders," Vol. II., p. 64).

f An officer's statement.

70 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

ioo N.C.O.'s and men killed, 13 officers wounded, and
363 additional casualties among the other ranks. But
they had clung to their position under the most desperate
conditions and had not given a yard of ground until the
whole line was ordered to fall back.

On the evening of May 3rd the battalion moved back
to bivouac in the wood north of Vlamertinghe-Poperinghe
road, where they were inspected by General Bulfin (the
Divisional Commander) on May 4th. At noon on the 8th
they were ordered to support an attack made by East
Surreys and the 3rd Middlesex between Verlorenhoek road
and Railway to regain some trenches lost in that vicinity.
The battalion took no more active participation on this
occasion than that of being the victim of perpetual sniping
from their front and right.

However, on the 12th, reinforced by several large
drafts, they were relieved by Leicester Yeomanry and
moved back to bivouac in a wood east of Poperinghe,
having lost Second Lieutenants W. Curwen and A. Ford,
with 40 N.C.O.'s and men killed ; and there were 3 officers
and 141 other ranks additional casualties during the four
days of active support.

In the severe losses they suffered the 3rd Royal Fusiliers
experienced this consolation, that they were highly
complimented by the Commander-in-Chief and Brigade
on May 20th, for their services and operations extending

from April 22nd to May 13th.

* * * *

The 4th Londons had meanwhile made a forced march

to Ouderdom on April 25th, and delivered an attack in
support of the Connaught Rangers at St. Jean, an effort
which was unsuccessful owing to the poisonous gas
employed by the enemy. On the following day the
4th Londons made another gallant attempt, this time upon
the right flank ; but also unsuccessfully. They sustained
heavy losses, Lieutenant Coates and 32 other ranks being
killed, 7 officers wounded and 165 additional casualties to

N.C.O.'s and men.

* # # *

SPRING CAMPAIGN, 1915 71

Aubers Ridge and Festubert. — Meanwhile an
attempt was being made by the First Army to engage the
enemy in the locality adjoining the scene of the Neuve
Chapelle operations. The first part of the operations
began on May 9th and the main advance was made
towards Fromelles.

On May 8th the 1st Londons had moved to assembly
positions south of the Rue Petillon with A and B Companies
on the right and C and D on the left. On the following
day, after an artillery bombardment of the German wiring
and trenches, the leading platoons of A and C Companies
advanced from their assembly positions only to be recalled
by the Brigadier. At 6.10 a.m., however, the battalion
advance * was resumed, being carried out by platoon rushes
during which the right half of the battalion alone lost 3
officers and 120 men, most of which casualties occurred
before the river Layes was reached. At half-past seven
information was received that Brig. -General Lowry Cole
had been killed, and an hour and a half later the battalion
was ordered to withdraw to the cross-roads at Rue du
Quesnes, from which they were directed to return to
billets at Bac St. Maur, having lost in the operations
Captain G. M. D. Mouat and Lieutenant R. G. B. Bowen
killed, Lieutenant J. Seaverns, died of wounds, Captain
A. A. Lyle and Lieutenant H. J. Boyton wounded and
194 other ranks casualties.

The 3rd Londons took part in the second advance which
was made, farther to the south, east of Festubert. The
Londons co-operated with their former companions, the
2nd Leinsters and Garhwal Rifles, in an unsuccessful
attack on May 16th on the enemy's trenches not far from
the scene of their previous enterprises, and in consequence
remained in trenches south of Neuve Chapelle, with their
headquarters on the Rue du Bois.

* * * *

* " They advanced over 400 yards of open with the steadiness of
veterans " (Conan Doyle, " The British Campaign in France and
Flanders," Vol. II., p. 119).

72 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Bellewarde Ridge. — Meanwhile, before Ypres there
had been a ten days' lull in the fighting ; but on May 24th
the enemy delivered a gas attack. This was the worst
discharge of all. Five miles away, at Dickebusch, the
4th Battalion experienced its effects, many men suffering
from sore eyes.

It was a perfect summer day and the light north-
easterly breeze just after dawn carried the poisonous fumes
across the British lines between Shell-trap Farm, north
of the St. Julien road, and Bellewarde Lake. The surprise
gained the enemy a considerable advantage, and, as the
men were searching for their respirators there began a
violent bombardment. It was a terrible experience,
waking to this inferno ; and some of the troops left their
trenches. The 3rd Battalion were at this time lying south
of the Ypres-Roulers railway, and they at once found
themselves not only obliged to cope with the poisonous
fumes and the terrible bombardment, but also with the
uncovering of their left flank, where the troops had left
the trenches. Half of No. 2 Company, under Second
Lieutenants Sealy and Holleny, were sent to occupy the
abandoned trenches north of the railway. Both officers
were killed later in the day. After 5 a.m. telephone
communication with brigade headquarters ceased, and
though constantly repaired it was as persistently broken
again by shell fire. Nos. 1 and 4 Companies were also
cut off from battalion headquarters, and the battle line
appeared to fall to pieces with small islands of steadfast
troops alone standing in the way of the German advance.

Major Johnson received a message from brigade head-
quarters ordering him to counter-attack. Two companies
of the Buffs were to support, and the East Surreys were to
co-operate north of the railway. The remainder of No. 2
Company and certain stragglers at once prepared to
advance against the ridge from the road 200 yards south
of the railway crossing; and at the same time a half
company of the Buffs moved up the sunken road south of
the wood, close to the level crossing. Major Baker crossed

BELLEWARDE FIGHTING, MAY, 1915 73

the railway and sent forward the other half of No. 2 Com-
pany under Lieutenant Sealy with orders to make good the
old trench line 350 yards to the east.

But now disaster began to crowd upon disaster. Major
Johnson's attack had not been successful, and he was
wounded and had to go to the dressing station. Major
Baker collected Major Johnson's party in the wood south
of the railway and placed them in the third line trenches.
But before the Fusiliers had taken up position the Ger-
mans had worked round to the south of Ridge 44 and were
enfilading the road south of the railway. Baker now got
together some of his men and placed them in the ditch on
this road, from which position they could return the
German fire with less disadvantage. The Buffs' reinforce-
ments sent up were so thinned out by shell fire that when
the various small parties were collected they totalled only
200 ; but they were a useful reinforcement. The immediate
danger was the Germans' turning movement on the right,
and the Buffs extended the line south of the road as a
counter manoeuvre.

The Germans had been in possession of our fire trenches
since 8 a.m., but the surviving 150 (out of an original 880)
Royal Fusiliers, with the assistance of the Buffs, succeeded
in holding the third line to the end of the day. A party of
Durham Light Infantry filled up the 300 yards' gap
between the Royal Fusiliers, north of the railway, and the
East Surreys. To complete the chronicle of disaster the
84th and 80th Brigades attacked that night, but, after
a bitter and prolonged struggle, nothing further was
achieved than a final checking of the German onslaught.
A restoration of the original position had proved impossible,
and the 3rd Royal Fusiliers were relieved and left the line.

In the final summing up the Germans had only produced
a surface abrasion on the positions for which the Fusiliers
had so obstinately fought. Almost from the beginning
their plight seemed hopeless. The gas, where it did no
worse, made the men incapable of all effort ; and yet the
time had come for a super-human effort. They had to make

74 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

good the defection on the left and, thus weakened, bear

a heavy onslaught from the Germans, and finally make a

deliberate counter-attack. By 8 a.m. Major Baker was

not only commanding officer ; he was the only officer left

out of seventeen. At the end of the day the battalion

casualties amounted to 536. This was probably the

worst loss in a day's battle of any Fusilier battalion

during the war.

* * * *

First attack on Bellewarde. — At the end of May

the Germans were left in possession of Bellewarde Lake,
and they established positions which made an uncom-
fortable sag in the Ypres salient. The 3rd Division was
given the task of effecting a local straightening of the line
in this area, and the 9th Brigade was selected to storm the
Bellewarde Farm Ridge.

The 4th Royal Fusiliers were in position, east of Cam-
bridge Road trench, at 1.30 a.m. on June 16th, on the right
of the brigade front. Immediately in front of them lay
the wood with a trench guarding its western edge. At
2.50 a.m. the artillery bombardment began, and two hours
later two companies advanced in half-company column
and captured the front German line without much resist-
ance, the wire having been so effectually cut that no
difficulty was experienced by our infantry in climbing
through it and scaling the enemy parapet. In some places
the wire was swept away as though it had never been.
Dead and wounded were lying about ; and the unwounded
appeared to have been demoralised by our shell fire — a
welcome change — into surrender.

On the right the two supporting companies of the 4th
Battalion pushed through the wood to the trench on the
west bank of Bellewarde Lake. But they advanced too
quickly for our artillery and suffered very heavily, despite
every attempt to correct the range by coloured screens.
At 10 a.m. the brigadier of the 7th Brigade had taken com-
mand ; and he ordered Major Hely Hutchinson to go into
the wood which had been just captured by the battalion

HEAVY FIGHTING, JUNE, 1915 75

and organise the men who remained. This was imme-
diately done.

But the bombardment by our own and the enemy's
artillery was too much, and after considerable loss the
4th Battalion withdrew to a communication trench which
had been turned into a fire trench by Captain de la
Perrelle. This position was held against all counter-
attacks until in the early part of the afternoon orders were
received to retire.

All the day the battalion was under heavy artillery fire,
and during the afternoon gas shells were used freely ; but the
men's behaviour was very fine. Lance-Corporal Filter and
Sergeant Jones were both wounded, but remained at their
machine guns until sent to the dressing station. Sergeant
H. T. Smith very bravely bandaged two wounded men
and carried them to cover, all under heavy fire ; and
Private A. Beckett was killed while assisting a wounded
comrade along a trench. Private McGee was wounded in
two places, but continued to carry messages through the
shell-swept area until sent to the dressing station by his
captain. Indeed, the battle was full of heroic deeds, but
at the end of the day only a handful of ground remained in
the hands of the battalion of all that had been taken in
that first eager rush, and the losses had been all too heavy.
Of the 22 officers and 820 men who entered battle some
15 officers and 376 men became casualties. Captain and
Adjutant O'Donel, who had been with the battalion from
their arrival in France, was killed. Lieutenants Thornton,
Harter, Warde and Rogers, with Second Lieutenants
Dudley and Banister, were also killed. Major Hely
Hutchinson was badly wounded and Captain de la
Peverelle took over the command of the battalion.

The day's fighting had been a very terrible experience,
though the divisional commander congratulated the
battalion, and General Allenby talked to the men in groups
on the 1 8th and told them they had done the finest bit of
work in the campaign.

CHAPTER V

THE SUMMER OPERATIONS — LOOS

As the spring wore on to summer a number of new
Royal Fusilier battalions made their way to France, so
that at the opening of the battle of Loos there were nine
Regular and Service battalions on the Western Front.
They settled down very easily, and showed every eagerness
to get to grips with the enemy. At first many things had
the charm of novelty. When, on July 29th, the 8th
Battalion exploded a mine in front of Frelinghem and a
trench mortar threw twenty 60 lb. bombs into the German
trenches, this formed a wonderful episode. It was the
first occasion on which a trench mortar had been used on
the battalion front, and it excited great interest. The
retaliation was even more engrossing, and a little dis-
turbing, too. On August 9th the Germans exploded a
mine and began a very heavy bombardment. Over
4,000 rounds from five batteries fell on the battalion front.
The artillery were asked to reply, and 147 rounds were
fired. The trench parapet was blown in, and Second
Lieutenant Allen and C.S.M. Perkins gallantly dug out
Lieutenant Chell, who had been buried by the mine
explosion, though they were completely in the open and
under heavy fire. The rest of the morning appears to have
been occupied by answering indignant expostulations
from the artillery about the reason for causing such a huge
expenditure of ammunition ! But Brig. -General Borrow-
dale later congratulated the battalion on their soldierly
bearing in this episode. It was all very characteristic of
the period.

On August 18th another typical incident occurred.

TWELFTH BATTALION'S ORDEAL 77

The 10th Battalion, who had only been in France some

eighteen days, were attached to the 8th for instruction in

the trenches.

During the early autumn the 1st Battalion remained in

the neighbourhood of Ypres, and the 4th was involved in

the operations about Hooge, which seemed ever to be

bubbling with activity. On September 29th the battalion

exploded a mine under a German trench, and the night

was occupied by a great bombing battle.

* * * *

Loos. — But in the meantime the army had launched
the battle of Loos, which, waged with intensity for some
days, set up ripples throughout the area for over a month.
The attack was elaborately staged and, in order to conceal
its exact dimensions, smoke clouds were released over an
extensive sector of the British front. This led to an
amusing incident. The 8th Battalion, still lying near
Houplines, had been ordered to light smoke fires along
their front at 4.30 a.m. on the morning of the attack.
At 4.15 this order was cancelled, and directions were given
to raise the smoke cloud at 5.30. The 40th Division, on
the right of the 8th Battalion, kept to the original order,
and about 5.0 a.m. voices from the German trenches
inquired when the 8th Battalion were going to light their
straw !

It was, however, the 12th Battalion, the last to arrive
in France, who were the first to be involved in the battle
of Loos. They formed part of the 73rd Brigade of the
24th Division, one of the two reserve units which Sir
John French had kept in hand " to ensure the speedy and
effective support of the I. and IV. Corps in case of their
success." They had only arrived in France on September
1st, and they reached Beuvry on the 24th by a succession
of tiring marches, with sick cases reported every day up
to the 22nd. They had not yet become acclimatised to
the realities of war. They had had no trench experience.
Beuvry lies about four miles from Vermelles as the crow
flies : but when it is remembered that at times a battalion

78 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

took five hours to travel a mile, and that these roads were
packed with traffic, this short distance will be appreciated
as a considerable undertaking. The 73rd was the leading
brigade, and on the approach march they were detached
and led off by a staff officer to the neighbourhood of
Fosse 8, perhaps the hottest corner of the Loos battle
area.

This only skims the surface of the 12th Battalion's
difficulties. Colonel C. J. Stanton was destined for a
brigade, and he was summoned on September 25th to
divisional headquarters. He handed over to Major
R. D. Garnons-Williams, who was ordered to the front
line to relieve the Black Watch, who had suffered
heavily in the morning attack. There had been no time
for preliminary reconnaissance. The troops were quite
new to the area, and in the confusion of marching up the
battalion became split up. Garnons-Williams, with a
platoon of No. 1 and the whole of No. 2 Company, carried
out the relief , and so came to a position where the advance
had been most bitterly resisted and the gain was still not
admitted to be final. From their entry into the trenches
until they left them on the morning of the 28th, the
battalion was continually under shell fire. In the
mornings and evenings the trenches were attacked. The
battalion, while subjected to this unique ordeal, had no
rations, no water, no sleep. They had arrived without
bombs, yet they beat off every enemy attack until the
morning of the 28th, when, after a heavy bombardment,
the flanking battalions were attacked and a footing was
gained in the trench on the battalion's right and left.
Their position was now hopeless, and, under an attack
from both flanks, they were forced to retire. But they
went back fighting. Lieutenant Neynor organised and
led four bayonet charges as they retired, and the enemy
was driven back.

Meanwhile the other part of the battalion, under Major
H. W. Compton, endeavouring to regain touch, had
halted in the dark. When the moon came out they were

HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT, SEPTEMBER, 1915 79

at once seen, and shelled in the open. They took cover
in some trenches, and waited for the dawn. On the
morning of the 26th they were placed by a staff officer in
the old British firing line, where they remained until the
28th, when they were relieved. The battalion's losses
had been very heavy. Major Garnons- Williams, Captains
Waddell and Phillips, Second Lieutenant Newcombe
were killed. Major Gibson and five other officers were
wounded. Two officers fell into the hands of the Germans.
Of other ranks 20 were killed, 27 wounded, 64 wounded
and missing, and 142 missing. The test to which they
were subjected one would say was too hard ; but, bearing
in mind the manner in which they bore the ordeal, it is
inevitable we should wonder if any test could be over-
hard for such troops.

The 3rd Battalion entered the battle when the 12th
were near the end of their ordeal. On the evening of
September 25th Fosse 8 lay in our hands, and Hohen-
zollern Redoubt lay behind our lines ; but on the morning
of the 27th Fosse 8, which, with its slag heap, commanded
Hohenzollern Redoubt, had reverted to the Germans,
and the redoubt itself was mainly held by the enemy.
On this day the 3rd Battalion were ordered to take over
some 700 yards of the German line north of the redoubt,
with the Buffs on their right. But as the line was at that
moment again in German hands, verbal orders were given
to company commanders at 2 a.m. to attack the redoubt
at once. No. 2 Company was upon the right, and No. 3
on the left, with Nos. 1 and 4 supporting, and the machine
gunners on the flanks. The battalion moved off, preceded
by General Pereira (85th Brigade), who was hit during the
afternoon, when the command of the brigade devolved
upon Colonel Roberts. The trenches were congested with
men wounded and men retiring, but Colonel Roberts
succeeded in leading No. 2 Company and half No. 1
Company into the redoubt, when, having placed them
on the south and south-east sides, he retired to brigade
headquarters. Major Baker took command of the

80 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

battalion, and between 6 p.m. and midnight he succeeded
in placing the battalion on three sides of the redoubt, the
East Surreys occupying the other. The operation was
carried out with great difficulty. The units were mixed.
There were no guides, and in the dark it was hard to
recognise the positions.

During the morning of the 28th the enemy attacked
the north face with bombs, but were repulsed by No. 3
Company. Another bombing attack followed an advance
of the Buffs and Middlesex. On this occasion the Germans
penetrated some distance up the south face, but were
eventually driven back by three platoons of No. 2 Com-
pany. The following morning the enemy bombed down
Little Willie, the trench leading north from the redoubt,
and the north face of the redoubt itself. They were only
forced back after a fierce struggle, in which No. 4 Company
had reinforced the East Surreys. No. 2 Company, after
attempting to straighten out the line by an advance along
the southern face, was caught in the most violent attack
of all. The Middlesex, who had been holding Big Willie,
the eastern limb of the redoubt, evacuated it, and No. 2
Company found its flank in the air. The Germans
bombed down the western face, and drove No. 2 Company
back almost to the head of the communication trench.
There a counter-attack was delivered by a company of
the Yorks and Lanes, and finally, after heavy loss, Nos. 2
and 4 Companies drove the Germans out of the western
face and Big Willie, and blocked the southern face. As
far as the 3rd Battalion goes, this disposition survived
attack. On the morning and afternoon of the 30th
bombing attacks along the southern face were all repulsed.
Captain Sutton arranged stores of bombs along the
western face and relief bombers, to be despatched to any
point as needed. At 4 a.m. the following morning the
battalion was relieved. They marched to Beuvry much
weaker than they set out. Captain R. S. Scholefield,
Lieutenant G. Murray Smith, Second Lieutenants S. W.
Bowes, J. E. Bull, G. H. L. Ohlmann and J. V. C. Batten

HULLOCH, SEPTEMBER— OCTOBER, 1915 Si

had been killed, and 12 other officers wounded. Among

other ranks the casualties totalled 337.

* * # *

On September 30th the 8th Battalion relieved the Irish
Guards in trenches captured from the Germans on the
25th in front of Hulloch. The following day there was
very heavy shelling by both sides. The British shelling
made it impossible to carry out the order to dig a jumping-
off trench in front of B Company's trench. For the latter,
and the ground in front of it, were constantly under our
own shrapnel, as the battery had had orders to prevent the
Germans from wiring this ground ! The 9th Battalion had
occupied neighbouring trenches on September 30th, and
both battalions, after a few days out of the trenches,
moved up again on October 13th. The 9th Battalion, on
this occasion, arrived at the German old line at 10.30 p.m.,
after having taken nearly five hours to cover about a mile.
The 35th Brigade had attacked that day, and the 8th at
night had two companies carrying bombs for them, the
other two being in trenches north of the Hulloch road in
support of the 37th Brigade.

Another small attack was delivered by troops of the
same division on October 18th. A German trench west
of the Quarries was attacked by the Essex and the 9th
Battalion supported with two squads of bombers under
Second Lieutenant W. W. Smith. The detachment
undoubtedly consumed a large supply of bombs, and the'
attack was successful. The trench was captured and con-
solidated. A and B Companies were in the fire trenches,
and the battalion were responsible for Pt. 54, with the
support of the Berks. At night the 9th were pleased to
receive a message from the Guards saying, " Well done,
neighbours. Many thanks for splendid co-operation."

The Essex were not left in undisturbed possession of
their gains. On the following day there was a sharp
attack on the captured trench. The bombardment began
at 7 a.m., and the new trench came under a concentrated
fire about 3.30. Shortly afterwards an attack developed

82 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

on the line of the 9th Battalion, and the 8th sent up

32 bombers under Second Lieutenants Oliver and Barrow.

Oliver was killed and Barrow wounded, but they had

assisted in beating off the attack. A more serious mishap

was the wounding of Lieut. -Colonel Anneslcy while he

was directing the 8th to " stand to."

* * * *

But the battle had by this time practically died down,
and the battlefield sank into that uneasy state of rest
which covered the whole line. Winter had come, and the
new battalions had time to grow accustomed to the
realities of the war. Many of them amused themselves
by erecting notice-boards near the German trenches when
any particularly heartening piece of news was available.
Thus, on December 10th the 10th Battalion placed a large
notice-board with a report of a peace demonstration in
Berlin on the German wire. Three months later the
enemy retaliated with a German cartoon showing a
Highlander gathering the German harvest. On the back
was written " Come on and let us have drink at Doberitz,
the newest British colony." This was found, neatly
wrapped in oilskin near the battalion's wire ; but, unfortu-
nately, the postmen were shot.

The Chord. — By this time, however, local actions had
begun, and in two of them the Royal Fusiliers were
engaged. The first was the action on March 2nd, 1916,
at the Hohenzollern Redoubt, and was carried out by the
8th and 9th Battalions. The objective was The Chord,
joining Big Willie and Little Willie. At 5.45 p.m. the
8th Battalion, on the left (or north), exploded three mines
and the 9th four. The largest of the latter ("A") was
intended to wreck the bulk of The Chord, but it only
affected about one-third of its length. The trench mortars
and artillery were to have begun simultaneously, but the
former began half an hour and the latter a quarter of an
hour earlier. Immediately after the explosion of the
mines 50 men of A Company of the 8th Battalion, under
Captain A. K. K. Mason and Second Lieutenant Wardrop,

HOHENZOLLERN REDOUBT, MARCH, 1916 83

and 5o'men of B Company of the 9th, under Captain the
Hon. R. E. Philipps, rushed across and seized the part of
The Chord allotted to them. Twenty of Philipps' party were
buried through the explosion of the mine blowing in part
of the assembly trench, and Philipps was slightly wounded
in the face. But the men went forward rapidly and either
cut through the wire or went over it where it was covered
by the earth cast up by the explosion. Of the party of
the 8th Battalion, only Wardrop and one man reached
The Chord, the rest being either killed or wounded.
Captain Mason was killed, but reinforcements were sent
out, and A Company, though bombed along The Chord to
within thirty yards of "A," where they found contact with
the 9th Battalion, held to the position. Major Cope *
took 24 men up to Wardrop, and the position was held for
the rest of the day. Meanwhile C Company, under Chard,
had seized Crater " C," the northernmost, and A Company
had taken "B" Crater, on the right of "C." Thus all
the craters had been occupied according to plan, but there
was still a body of Germans holding out in The Chord.

The 9th Battalion had, in the meantime, seized their
objectives. They found many Germans in their sector
of The Chord who, though dazed, did not surrender and
consequently had to be killed. There followed a number
of fierce grenade fights, the Germans rushing down from
the north end of The Chord and along the trenches leading
from the east into it. C Company, under Major N. B.
Elliott-Cooper, rushed Craters Nos. 1, 2 and " A" ; and then
seized the crater in the Triangle. The grenade attack
on the right lost direction, and Sergeant Cronyn rushed
down the south-east face of the Triangle into Big Willie,
throwing grenades into the crowded dug-outs, until held
up by a party of Germans. A fierce grenade encounter
followed until the Triangle was consolidated. The 8th
had to call on the supporting battalion before the day
was over, but the craters were held against enemy bombing
attacks during the night.

* Major Cope and Colonel Annesley were both granted the D.S.O.

G 2

84 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Though both battalions lost heavily, the operation on
the whole had been most successful. On the part of the
9th Battalion it had been particularly so, and Lieut. -
Colonel Gubbins was awarded the D.S.O., Major Elliott-
Cooper, Captain the Hon. R. E. Philipps and Lieutenant
E. W. T. Beck the M.C. ; Sergeant Cronyn, Lance-Corporal
A. Lowrey and Private Mcintosh received the D.C.M. The
battalion also received warm congratulations from General
Gough, G.O.C. I. Corps ; General Scott, G.O.C. 12th
Division ; and from Brigadier-General Boyd Moss, G.O.C.
36th Brigade. Both battalions were mentioned in
Sir Douglas Haig's despatch of May 12th, 1916.

St. Eloi. — A more imposing operation was that carried
out by the 4th Battalion with the 1st Northumberland
Fusiliers on March 27th. This attack was described in
the despatch of May 12th, and in the published edition of
the despatches it is illustrated by a plan. The object was
to straighten " out the line at St. Eloi," and cut " away
the small German salient which encroached on the semi-
circle of our line in the Ypres salient to a depth of about
100 yards over a front of some 600 yards. The operation
was begun by the firing of six very large mines ; the charge
was so heavy that the explosion was felt in towns several
miles behind the lines, and large numbers of the enemy
were killed. Half a minute after the explosion our
infantry attack was launched, aiming at the German
second line." * The right attack by the Northumberland
Fusiliers met with little opposition ; but the 4th Royal
Fusiliers fared very differently.

The attackf was launched at 4.15 a.m., with W and X

* Despatch.

f There is little use in amplifying this account. The episode seems,
on calm reflection, to have been the most tragic of any in which the
Royal Fusiliers figured. There can be no possible doubt of the splendid
gallantry of officers and men. There is as little doubt as to the skill of
the command. No troops could have done better ; but a certain
glamour surrounded the action of the Northumberland Fusiliers because
of their greater success. It is one of the many instances in which the
caprice of fate involved a grave injustice.

ST. ELOI, MARCH, 1916 85

Companies on the left and Y and Z on the right. The
men ran forward on the explosion of the mines, but they
were met by intense rifle, machine gun and artillery fire.
The Germans appear to have been fully on the alert, and
the battalion at once lost heavily. They stormed the
German wire, unbroken as it was, and took the first
German trench. But they had been so weakened and the
opposition was so heavy that they could get no further,
and the ground was consolidated. The rest of the day
was occupied by an artillery duel. The German fire was
intense, and until midnight it was impossible to relieve
the battalion. Small parties of the 2nd Royal Scots then
began to get through, but the relief was not complete until
6 a.m. on March 28th. The casualties for the day were 10
officers and 255 other ranks. Captain Moxon, Second
Lieutenants Tothill, Howard, Boddy and Perrier, were
killed, and Lieutenant Hardman died of wounds on the
30th. It was on the 29th that the chaplain, the Rev. N.
Mellish, went out repeatedly with a volunteer party to
get in the wounded, and he was awarded the Victoria Cross,
being the first chaplain to receive it during the war.

The action of March 27th was but the beginning of a
long series of local attacks and counter-attacks in this
area until May 19th, when the status quo ante was perforce
accepted as the best compromise.

CHAPTER VI

THE GREAT ADVENTURE — GALLIPOLI

" It was an impossible task for any but highly-disciplined,
well-trained, skilfully-led, heroically brave, grimly-determined
Britishers, animated by high ideals, and upheld by the tradi-
tions of their battalions and of their race. It may truly be
called the achievement of the impossible." — Lieut. -General
Sir Aylmer Hunter -Weston, M.P., " The Times," June yth,
1921.

Meanwhile the 2nd * Battalion had written a memor-
able page in one of the most tragic episodes of the war.
Landing on the Gallipoli Peninsula with the 29th Division
on April 25th, they saw the campaign through to its close
in brilliant failure.

At the outbreak of the war the battalion was in India,
and it did not embark for England until December.
January 18th, 1915, a week after they had settled down
at Stockingford, was the first day of mobilisation ; and a
few days later Lieutenant J. V. Scudmore and Second
Lieutenant H. Cooper handed over the colours to the
Lord Mayor of London. But the 29th Division, of which
the battalion formed part, was not destined to leave
England yet. It was not until March that orders arrived
which suggested an Eastern destination. On March 12th
the division, now commanded by General Hunter- Weston,
was inspected by the King near Dunchurch, and four days
later the battalion embarked on S.S. Alaunia at Avon-
mouth.

Alaunia steamed her stately way through beautiful
weather to the Eastern Mediterranean. When she was
still some distance from Gibraltar the navy began its

* General Hamilton's despatch speaks of the battalion as the " ist."

■f.

SECOND BATTALION IN EGYPT 87

attack on the Narrows. But apparently there was no
advantage in speed, and the division waited a few days
at Malta. Alaunia then steamed towards Lemnos until
the night of the 26th, when, in conformity with orders
received by wireless, she changed her course and at length
arrived at Alexandria on Palm Sunday, March 28th, about
noon. The troops did not disembark until the following
day, when they proceeded to Mex Camp. The routine of
the next few days outlined with sufficient accuracy the
task which the battalion was to undertake. There were
practice disembarkations with subsequent attacks on
enemy positions. One of the Lancashire Fusiliers
attempted to relieve the tedium by almost drowning him-
self while bathing in a rough sea, but Lieutenant Anstice,
who added a happy zest for life to a facility for finding
adventures, very bravely rescued him.

The routine became a little more strenuous and life-like
after the battalion reached Lemnos on April nth. The
mere operation of disembarkation as carried on in some of
these rehearsals was the reverse of inspiriting. The vessel
stood high out of the water, and to enter a boat, bobbing
up and down in the water, by means of a rope ladder was
like leaving the roof of a sky-scraper by means of a spider's
web leading to a cockle-shell. Fortunately the operation
was simplified for the landing on the peninsula. Implacable
did not stand nearly so high out of the water, and wooden
ladders were let down to the boats.

On the evening of the 23rd the 2nd Royal Fusiliers left
Lemnos with the covering force for Tenedos, where the
last preparations were carried out. There the battalion
was split : W and X Companies, with headquarters, went on
board H.M.S. Implacable about 7 p.m. on the 24th, while
Y and Z, with Major L. Brandreth, went on board a mine-
sweeper. About 10.30 p.m. the approach to Gallipoli
began. The night was calm and clear, and the short
journey was made under a brilliant moon. The two
companies on Implacable had a hot breakfast about
3.30 a.m. (April 25th), and the men were then put into

88 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

boats. The moon had already set, and the night had
become dark and still. At 4.45 the fleet bombardment
began, and about half an hour later Implacable steamed
in until her anchor, hanging over the bows to six fathoms,
dragged. On each side of her were two tows of six boats.
The difficulty of the task which these heroic troops were
about to undertake is now commonly realised ; but
although Sir Ian Hamilton pays it lip-service in his
admirable despatch, the objective visualised for the
covering force shows no appreciation of it. In point of
fact, this objective, "the ridge across the peninsula,
point 344 — Achi Baba peak — 472 — coast line," remained
to the end an unrealised dream. The Turks had had full
warning, and had prepared for the reception of their
uninvited guests with a defence built upon their own
unquestioned courage and the conscientious organisation
of their German allies.

Before the attack was launched Brig. -General S. W.
Hare, the officer commanding the covering force, issued
the following order to the 86th Brigade : " Fusiliers, our
brigade is to have the honour to be the first to land to
cover the disembarkation of the rest of the division. Our
task will be no easy one. Let us carry it through in a
way worthy of the traditions of the distinguished regiments
of which the Fusilier Brigade is composed, in such a way
that the men of Albuhera and Minden, of Delhi and
Lucknow, may hail us as their equals in valour and military
achievement, and that future historians may say of us, as
Napier said of the Fusilier Brigade at Albuhera, ' Nothing
could stop this astonishing infantry.' The Fusilier
Brigade certainly deserved this tribute for the landing at
Gallipoli, and no unit more than the Royal Fusiliers.

The landing place of the 2nd Battalion was a small
natural amphitheatre with a narrow floor of sand about
200 yards long, lying on the north-west face of the penin-
sula. The cliff was some 100 feet high, rising somewhat
steeply from the beach, and there was no natural way up.
The boats were towed in by the pinnaces to about 100 yards

■ife

THE LANDING, APRIL 25TH, 1915 89

from the beach, when, cast off, they had to look to them-
selves. Each boat had a midshipman and two blue-
jackets, who were to take them to the mine-sweeper when
the first half of the battalion had landed.

The men rowed in as rapidly as possible until the boats
grounded, when they jumped into the water, and
waded ashore. In places the men were chest-deep in
the sea ; and, in any case, the thorough wetting would
have been a very dangerous handicap where success and
the cost of it depended on speed. But apparently no one
thought of this handicap, and the men forced their way
ashore and scrambled up the crumbling cliff. Up to this
point the battalion had suffered hardly any casualties-
The beach " X " was naturally less likely to encourage a
landing, and Implacable s most skilful covering fire kept
down the Turkish reply until the cliff was topped. Colonel
Newenham signalled the position of a half-battery of
Turkish guns in the scrub in front of the centre of the
battalion, and they were promptly knocked out by the
battleship's fire. After that its immediate usefulness was
small, and the Royal Fusiliers ran into a heavy converging
fire. But there was no hesitation, no wavering, and the
men kept on and rapidly seized one of the Turkish trenches.

By this time Y and Z Companies, with Brandreth, were
disembarking from the boats which had landed the first
half of the battalion ; and Lieut. -Colonel Newenham, with
an instant appreciation of the situation, sent X (Captain
F. K. Leslie) to the left front, W (Major G. S. Guy on) to
the centre and right front, and then, taking all the troops
he could gather, marched towards the right * to effect a

* The objective, as stated in Colonel Newenham's Operation Order
No. 1, was " Hill 114, and secure flank towards N.E." One company
of the Lancashires was to assist in taking Hill 114.

The disposition (same order) was as follows : " On landing, W
Company will be on the right and X on the left. The cliff will at once
be scaled in platoons or half-platoons. The trench at top of cliff will
be immediately rushed with bayonets. X Company will then be
prepared to attack on the left (N.), and W Company will be prepared to
the right (S.). As soon as Y and Z Companies land, Z Company will at
once ascend the cliff in platoons or half-platoons. Y Company will

go ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

junction with the Lancashires at " W " beach. The
smallest pardonable indecision at this point, and the whole
landing would have failed. Colonel Newenham had
learned by signal that the troops on " Y " beach were hard
beset, and could not join with his force on " X," and that
the landing on " V " was hung up. He had seen that the
Lancashires were suffering terribly in even approaching
their beach.

The little force which marched towards the Lancashire
landing was made up of W and part of Z Company (Major
F. Moore). Y (Major W. A. B. Daniell) was left as a
reserve and to carry ammunition and water, and the orders
were to hold on left and front. Between " X" and " W "
beaches lay Cape Tekke, crowned by Tekke Hill (Hill 114) , *
and, in order to join hands with the Lancashires, the Royal
Fusiliers had to carry it. The hill had been elaborately
entrenched and was also defended by land mines, but
about 11 a.m. the Fusiliers, cheered on by Impiacable's
crew, carried it at the point of the bayonet. The battalion
sent back about sixty prisoners. They then re-formed and
advanced north-east and east, and met with heavy opposi-
tion on the reverse side of the hill. The Turks were
dislodged from their entrenchments, and the Royal
Fusiliers then dug in for the night. They had achieved
contact with the Lancashires, and their role had been amply
filled.

Meanwhile, X Company had fought through as terrible
an experience as any troops on the peninsula. Between
" Y " beach and " X " beach was a considerable Turkish
force at " Y2 " or " Gully " beach. The first 300 yards
of the advance to the left from " X " beach was
made against little opposition ; and the Turks, retiring
at 9 a.m., left the first line of trenches in Captain Leslie's
hands. But the Turks fell back upon heavy reinforcements

first unload the boats, and then be prepared to support Z Company or
to carry up stores, as is necessary."

* This hill cannot be accurately described as between " V " and
" W " beaches, as in General Hamilton's despatch.

THE CRISIS ON APRIL 25TH

at " Y2," and when X Company approached the second
line they became involved in heavy fighting. Part of
Y Company went up in support, but the struggle gathered
in intensity, and the centre began to give way. The main
mass of the battalion had been concentrated on the flanks
and had marched outwards, and the centre was inevitably
thinned. Part of Z had been extended to the left, and the

Sketch Map showing the Tosition at the South-West of Galli-
poli on the Night of April 25TH, 1915, on the Night of
the 26th, and up to May 17TH, 1915.

The various lines show the stages in the advance. The disposition
of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers on the night of April 25th gives some
suggestion of the strain through which they had passed during the day.

whole of Y had become involved. A remnant of Leslie's
company began to fall back under cover of a platoon of
Z, commanded by Lieutenant Jebens.

But at 3 p.m. Shafto informed Colonel Newenham that
the centre was falling back ; and for a moment it seemed
as if the whole position was crumbling, just when it had
been so dearly won. At this critical juncture Colonel
Newenham telephoned to the 87th Brigade, who were
now landing at " X " beach, and a little later the 1st

92 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Border Regiment reinforced the left of the line. For the
rest of the day X was attached to them, and at night lay
on their left. In the attack on Hill 114, Colonel
Newenham had been wounded. He was assisted into a
little gully with some other wounded, but between 3 and
4 p.m., when the line appeared to be giving at a number of
points, the little party was almost cut off and captured.
With the assistance of the Border Regiment and the
1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the line was consolidated ;
and though it was heavily attacked and under a sustained
fire during the night, the dawn saw the Turks fall back to
a rear position.

From the force eventually required to hold the line
some idea of the magnitude of the 2nd Battalion's achieve-
ment may be gathered. At night they lay somewhat
scattered along the rim of the cliff. Between the small
party on the extreme left and the section on the left of
the Lancashires lay the Border Regiment and the Innis-
killings. The battalion's losses had been very heavy.
Lieut. -Colonel Newenham * and Major Brandreth, second
in command, were both wounded. Of X Company only
O'Connell remained, with about a platoon. Captain
Leslie and Lieutenant R. E. G. A. de Trafford were killed.
Captain Tottenham and Lieutenant S. Winslade were
wounded. Lieutenants J. V. Scudamore (W) and M.
Brickland (Y) were killed. Second Lieutenants Hanham
and Collings were wounded. No company commander
escaped, and the battalion was reduced to about half
strength. But a careful study of the situation during
this day makes it evident that their contribution had been
decisive. The troops at " Y " beach were held, and
actually withdrew the following day. The landing at
" V " beach was in the air. The first hours of the

* Colonel Newenham had the hard fate of only seeing the battalion
he had so carefully trained in action on this one occasion. But the
praise which it won from the closest observer, quoted several times in
these pages, for its efficiency, discipline, and courage, is sufficient
tribute to his command. He was granted a well-deserved C.B. for his
services on this occasion.

Brig. -General H. E. B. Newenham, C.B., who commanded the
2nd Royal Fusiliers in the Landing at Gallipoli.

THE NIGHT AFTER THE LANDING 93

Lancashires' landing found them hardly able to do more
than hang on. The swift march upon and capture of
Hill 114 turned the scale on " W" beach ; and with the
linking of the two beaches a feasible, if precarious, foothold
was established on the peninsula.*

Captain Moore's wound proved slight, and on the night
of the landing he took over the command of the battalion.
On the afternoon of the 26th they had to beat off two
determined Turkish attacks. The first assault was made
with a force estimated at 1,500, and the second, half an
hour later, with an additional thousand. The Turks
achieved no success, and Hill 141, to the right of "V
beach, having been taken, the Turks could be seen with-
drawing towards Achi Baba. On the following day a
general advance was made without opposition, the
86th Brigade being in divisional reserve.

On the 28th there occurred one of those unfortunate
incidents which seemed to appear with undue frequency
on the peninsula. The battalion advancing on the
extreme left, by the coast, were ordered to move to the

* A few sentences in General Hamilton's despatch tend to give a
wrong impression of the battalion's achievement : " The battalion then
advanced to attack the Turkish trenches on Hill 114 .. . but were
heavily counter-attacked and forced to give ground. Two more
battalions of the 87th Brigade soon followed them, and by evening the
troops had established themselves . . . as far south as Hill 114." The
Royal Fusiliers not only carried the hill positions, but by 2 p.m. had also
taken the entrenchments on the further side. Help from the 87th
Brigade came at least two hours later, and to the weakened centre, not
to the victorious right. The despatch, speaking of the Lancashires,
also says that " a junction was effected on Hill 114 with the Royal
Fusiliers," without any suggestion that, unless the 2nd Battalion had
promptly marched upon and seized it, there would have been no
possibility of effecting a junction. Mr. Nevinson shows a better
appreciation of the position when he says (speaking of the Lancashires
on "W" beach), " No further advance could be made until 2 p.m.,
when, owing to the positions held by the two companies on the left, the
landing had become fairly secure " (" The Dardanelles Campaign,"
p. 103). The position held by these two companies was made possible
by the decisive march of the Royal Fusiliers. General Callwell summed
up this episode in the words : " The success of the Royal Fusiliers at
beach ' X ' must be set down as a particularly memorable exploit "
(" The Dardanelles," p. 67).

94 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

support of the 88th Brigade, who were meeting with strong
opposition. The 86th were to take ammunition to the
88th, and to carry the line forward to the spur north-east
of Krithia. The Royal Fusiliers and the Lancashires were
to'attack, the former being on the left of the directing
platoon of the Lancashires. When the latter at length
began to advance, the 2nd Battalion, under Cripps and
O'Connell, conformed, and carried the line forward with
a series of short, swift rushes. Heavy fighting continued
all day, but the battalion dug in on a line about a mile
south of Krithia. Cripps was wounded, and the strength
of the Fusiliers ebbed still further. What appeared more
lamentable was that the farthest point reached could not
be maintained for lack of support, and a month's hard
righting and heavy losses were required to regain the
ground won in this determined advance. The battalion
was in brigade reserve on the two following days, resting
and reorganising. Indeed, some respite was called for.
On leaving Mex Camp they had mustered 26 officers and
948 other ranks. On April 30th the strength was 12
officers and 481 other ranks.

On May 1st, after a quiet day, the battalion was called
upon for another tour de force. At 7.30 p.m. orders had
been issued for the relief of the 86th Brigade, but it was
still in the line when a very heavy attack developed at
10.30 p.m. " The first momentum of this ponderous
onslaught fell upon the right of the 86th Brigade, an
unlucky spot, seeing all the officers thereabouts had
already been killed or wounded." * It was a weak spot
for another reason. At this point of the brigade front
the line was cut by a bifurcating nullah. The Turks
organised this first massed counter-attack with great skill.
The trenches were first heavily shelled, and then, just
before moonrise, the first line of the Turks hurled them-
selves against the Allied positions with fixed bayonets.
From prisoners captured by the Royal Fusiliers it was

* Despatch.

COUNTERATTACK ON MAY ist— 2nd 95

later discovered that this attack was delivered by 16,000
Turks, with 2,000 in reserve.

The effect of this onslaught on the already weak
Munsters might have been foreseen. The heavy weight
of living bayonets, bursting out of the darkness into their
trenches and up the nullah, overwhelmed the defence.
Some of the Turks penetrated to the reserve trench held
by the 1/5 Scots.* But the position was critical, and
the Royal Fusiliers, who were in brigade reserve, were
again called upon. Captain North-Bomford and Lieu-
tenant Jebens took up Z Company. The line at this
moment was pierced. The Turks were massed in the
nullah. The Fusiliers at once charged into it, and though
North-Bomford was wounded, the breach in the line was
healed. The nullah was soon choked with dead and
dying. Forty prisoners were sent back, and when
Y Company came up the line was restored on both sides
of the nullah. The trenches were held all night (May 2nd),
despite incessant attacks, in which the Turks on more
than one occasion fought their way up to the trench
parapets. Lieutenant Anstice.f who had distinguished
himself for his coolness and gallantry in carrying ammu-
nition to the front line, was killed. Jebens was wounded,
and Captain Moore was again hit, and had to hand over
the command to Captain H. M. Hope-Johnstone. It was
immediately after discussing the position with his new CO.
that Shafto, one of the most popular of officers, was shot
dead while examining the front line in the early morning.
The battalion had again lost very heavily, but their inter-
vention at a critical juncture had " saved the situation. "J

" All through the operations the Royal Fusiliers
worked with the smoothest precision ; never for a moment
did they lose their high standard of efficiency. No task
was relinquished while it was humanly possible to com-

* General Hamilton's despatch attributes to this regiment the saving
of the situation, and does not mention the Royal Fusiliers.
t He was recommended for the Victoria Cross.
I From a letter of the Brigade Major, May 22nd, 1915.

96 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

pletc it. With such men as Moore, Shafto, and Hope-
Johnstone in control, all officers inspiring confidence, and
the disciplined conduct of the men showing their friendly
trust in them, there was never a fear that the reserve
might fail in stemming the assault. Captain Moore, in
telephonic communication throughout the night with the
firing line and brigade headquarters, gave accurate and
constant information of the progress of the fight, and
acted on his own initiative or carried out orders rapidly
to deal with every situation." *

There were now only six officers left. Mundey became
Adjutant. Huggett, O'Connell, Hewitt and Cooper were
the other officers ; and there were still 425 other ranks.
On the night of the 2nd the bulk of the battalion was
again sent up in support. The two following days were
quiet. On the 4th the 86th Brigade was broken up, the
Royal Fusiliers, linked with the Hants, though as a
separate battalion, going to the 88th Brigade. The
landing phase was over. In a letter dated May 22nd,
1915, the Brigade Major of the 86th Infantry Brigade
said, " Where all have done well, the Royal Fusiliers have
been beyond praise. With five junior officers and under
400 men, they have never lost their form for a moment.
Not only have they always done what might have been
expected of them, but they have risen to a standard of
soldiering which could not be higher, and never departed
from it. I am filled with admiration for them." Praise
could hardly be higher than this.

On May 6th began the second battle of Krithia. At
about 11 a.m. the battalion moved to the extreme left of the
brigade front in support of the Hampshire Regiment,
and at 12.30 p.m. Huggett's company reinforced the Hants'
left in the advance. The Fusiliers' left rested on the Saghir
Dere (Gully Ravine), and in about four hours' hard fighting
they had carried the line forward several hundred yards ;
and, no further advance being possible, dug in as fast as

* The Brigade Major, 86th Brigade, quoted from " With the 29th
Division," p. 190.

SECOND BATTLE OF KRITHIA, MAY 6th— 7TH 97

possible under fire. So the position stood that night, and
on the following morning it was found impossible to make
headway against the Turkish opposition, while the flanking
brigade was held up. The Essex who advanced through
the battalion at 5 p.m. were in trouble for the same reason,
and during the night the Fusiliers had to send up a party
to fill the gap on their left to the nullah. All that day the
battalion had been under very accurately aimed shell fire,
and on the 8th they still suffered from this unwelcome
attention. But the second battle of Krithia died down
under heavy counter-attacks and the battalion went into
reserve 5 officers and 384 other ranks strong, after sixteen
days in the fire zone.

When the Fusiliers went back into the line again on the
17th they had the novel excitement of enfilading a
Turkish trench. Though at some 1,200 yards distance, the
fire very efficiently checked the activity of enemy snipers.
But this was merely an interlude. Saps were driven for-
ward and several attempts were made to lift the batta-
lion front with them. The second was on the 22nd, when
gallantly led by Moore, Hope- Johnstone and Webb-Bowen,
the Fusiliers captured a Turkish trench ; but a heavy
counter-attack forced them to withdraw with 40 casualties,
including Moore and Webb-Bowen. Both were wounded,
Moore for the third time. Maj or Brandreth had by this time
returned to the battalion, and there had been no pause in
the fighting when they were called upon to take part in
the third battle of Krithia, on June 4th.

The Turks had now organised a systematic defence
across the peninsula and the battalion had to advance
against a determined resistance. A small machine gun
redoubt, lying about 150 yards in front, was among their
objectives. Admirably sited on rising ground the position
was strong out of all proportion to its size. When
the advance began at noon W Company (Captain
Amphlett), on the right, rushed this redoubt, and there,
for the first time, the battalion came face to face with
Germans. The garrision was composed of a machine gun

F. H

98 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

crew from the cruiser Breslau. " One ugly looking cus-
tomer was captured, evidently the naval equivalent of a
military pioneer sergeant. He was armed with a rifle,
revolver and a serrated sword. The others retired on the
arrival of our men, leaving four heavy naval machine
guns, and belt boxes of S.A.A. ... I collected these guns
and sent them to brigade headquarters with labels, stating
time of capture, etc. The guns had evidently been taken
from the Breslau, the belt boxes were all marked S.M.S.
Breslau."*

Captain Amphlett was killed on this occasion. A police
magistrate in Grenada at the outbreak of the war, he was
one of the new officers and appears to have shown his
quality at once and to have died beloved by his
company.

The battalion swept past the redoubt and established
themselves in the first objective. No further advance
could be made as the Indians on the left were held up by
uncut wire. The brilliant French advance was followed
by a retirement which compelled the R.N.D. to fall
back. The Manchester Brigade of the 42nd Division had
reached the second objective ; and to strengthen their
position the Royal Fusiliers on the left advanced once more
under artillery support, and carried the line well beyond
the first objective. This was not an unmixed advantage,
as the sequel showed. The new front line was not con-
tinuous, and, with the coastal sector at the original posi-
tion, the ground gained formed an irregular salient in the
Turkish lines. Some 80 yards of the Fusiliers' line on the
left was a Turkish communication trench which lay prac-
tically at right angles to the main line, and the battalion
on the left, lying some distance ahead, shared this trench.
After the main attack on June 4th followed a quiet day ;

* Statement by R.S.M. Huband (June, 192 1). General Hamilton's
despatch says " Goeben." I cannot determine whether there were two
similar incidents, and the brigade diary is missing for this date. It
seems more probable that " Breslau " should be substituted for
" Goeben."

THIRD BATTLE OF KRITHIA, JUNE 4TH— 6th 99

but at dawn on the 6th a loud noise of bombing was
heard on the Fusiliers' left. Almost immediately after-
wards a large body of men were seen retiring ; but
instead of going straight back they ran along the parados
and rushed into the left of the Fusiliers' sector. The
trenches were narrow and soon became choked. Brandreth
seeing the possibility of panic spreading, ran across with
Mundey and Sergeant Marston. Every effort was made to
restore order, but the vacated trenches were now occupied
by the Turks. Very soon the battalion were taken from
the left rear. Many men were shot in the back. Only one
officer, Second Lieutenant Cooper, remained. Word was
sent back to the brigade, but the company which was sent
up refused to counter-attack without information from the
CO., who was missing. So the battalion had to retire. In
the three days' righting it had suffered very terribly. The
ten new officers were all lost, and they included such men
as the famous embryologist Captain Jenkinson. The loss
of Brandreth was of greater importance to the battalion ;
and Mundey, who had also fallen, had revealed unexpected
strength. When it was relieved, the following day, it
marched, 2 officers and 278 other ranks strong, to Gully
Beach.

Four company organisation was dropped and the two
companies fell under the command of Captain A. A. C.
Taylor, of the Dublins. While in reserve they were joined
by Major Julian Fisher, D.S.O., who brought with him a
draft of 10 officers and 400 other ranks from England.
Captain P. N. Wilson, who was commanding the divisional
cyclists, was allowed to rejoin the battalion, and the unit
was given ten days to reorganise. The new draft consisted
of very young men who had not received much training.
None of the officers were Regulars, but men who had
gathered from the ends of the earth to take their part in
the war. When the battalion went back to the line once
more, on June 23rd, they mustered 13 officers and 667
other ranks. Lieutenant Eustace commanded Y company,
Captain Ayrton X and Captain Gudgeon Z. About three

■ 1

ioo ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

days later Captain FitzClarence * arrived from England
and took over the duties of the second in command.

On the 28th the battalion again attacked, leading the
brigade with three companies ; and their advance, though
successful, was dearly bought. They advanced about
1,000 yards, " a magnificent sight, the men never losing
their formation under a heavy artillery and rifle fire." f
The ground had been carefully ranged and the bulk of the
casualties were due to well-placed shrapnel. There were
few from rifle fire ; but in attempting to round off their
achievement in the night the battalion became involved
in hand-to-hand fighting. Few details of these encounters
have been preserved ; but when the Fusiliers were relieved
they were in the last stage of exhaustion. A twenty-four
hours' struggle in oppressive heat with hardly any water
has its unforgettable terrors. The actual losses included
nine officers : FitzClarence, Ayrton, Andrews killed ;
Bulbeck, Freer and Harford wounded ; Gudgeon, Eustace
and Willett missing. Of other ranks, 27 were killed,
175 wounded, and 57 missing. Not one of these officers
had been with the battalion when it landed in Gallipoli,
and the continuity was preserved by an ever-thinning
thread.

When the battalion returned to the trenches on July 3rd,
Major Cripps had rejoined and taken over the duties of
adjutant ; and in this tour the 9 officers and 409 other
ranks had companies of newly arrived troops attached for
instructional purposes. On the 15th the Fusiliers pro-
ceeded to " V " beach and embarked for Lemnos. The
next day was spent in bivouacs about a mile from Mudros,
the first day since April 25th that the 2nd Battalion had
not been under rifle or shell fire. There they were rejoined
by Major Guy on who took over the command from Major

* Captain A. A. C. FitzClarence was the sixth of his family to serve
in the regiment. He was a cousin of Brig. -General FitzClarence, V.C.,
also a Royal Fusilier, who initiated the counter-attack which restored
the line at Ypres on October 31st, 1914.

f Mr. Ashmead Bartlett in The Times, July 9th, 1915.

KRITHIA VINEYARD, AUGUST 6th ioi

Fisher. Drafts were received from the 3rd,* 5th and
7th Battalions and the unit was able to return to three
company strength once more.

The battles of Suvla saw them in Gallipoli again. The
trenches were practically the same as those occupied
before the rest in Lemnos. Indeed, one of the terrible
characteristics of the whole of this campaign was the
impression of always advancing at great cost and never
changing the position. The actions of Krithia Vineyard,
which were subsidiary to the battles of Suvla, saw the
battalion bringing in the wounded of the 88th Brigade.
They had moved to the reserve trench before the opening
of the battle, and as the 88th Brigade left the trenches
early in the morning of August 6th, they took them over.
Well-directed and sustained, the Turkish counter-bom-
bardment exacted a heavy toll. The firing line was found
to be full of dead and wounded, belonging to different
units. Z Company, on the left, also suffered severely.
Some relief was afforded by the luck of a machine gun.
Mounted in a communication trench, this gun, at a range
of 850 yards, enfiladed a trench near the vineyard and
wiped off some of the score.

Suvla. — On the 16th the battalion relieved the Border
Regiment who were holding the extreme left of the line to
the sea. W Company lay on the cliff side as it rose from the
sea. The line occupied by Z ran almost at right angles to
this position, turning back roughly parallel to the sea. It
was not a sector that one would naturally choose. The
Turkish snipers were in the ascendant. The steel loop-
holes were being shot away and periscopes could not be
raised for more than a second or two. From the Turkish
trenches which, in places, were only 15 yards distant,
bombs were being continually thrown into the British
lines. The conditions, in fine, were intolerable, and
arrangements were made to relieve them. An intensive
treatment with jam-tin bombs and trench mortars some-
what chastened the Turkish bomb throwers, and a minor

* Men who had suffered from trench feet in France.

102 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

attack was planned for the 20th. But it was never to
take place. On the 19th the battalion were relieved.
They embarked from " W " beach at 7 p.m. on the
following day, and at midnight they disembarked at " C "
beach, Suvla. Packs were dumped and the battalion
marched to Chocolate Hill, arriving there at dawn on
August 2 1 st.

Their role was to assist in redeeming the past. On how-
many occasions during the war were the Royal Fusiliers
faced with a similar task ? A single battalion, 6th E.
Yorks. Pioneers had occupied Scimitar Hill on Sunday,
August 8th, and had been withdrawn, apparently by an
oversight. Its value, recognised later, led to the plan in
which the 2nd Battalion were to play their part. The
key to " W " hill and Anafarta Sagir, its possession was
necessary if a further advance were to be made ; and,
untaken, even the security of the main Suvla landing was
prejudiced. Scimitar Hill was to be taken by the con-
verging attack of the 87th and S6th Brigades, the 86th
advancing from the right. The Royal Fusiliers in brigade
reserve, were behind Chocolate Hill, their position being
connected with that of the Munsters and Lancashires by a
narrow communication trench. At 2.30 p.m. (August
2 1st) the bombardment began. A quarter of an hour
later, the men began to file down the communication
trench in order to be ready to take up the position ahead
as soon as it was vacated by the Munsters and Lancashires.
At 3.30 these troops went forward ; but the brigades on
the right had lost direction in front and little headway
could be made. While filing down the trench the Royal
Fusiliers came under a heavy enfilade fire from shrapnel.
It became blocked with dead and wounded, and to add
to the horror of the moment, the thick bush on both sides
was kindled by the shell fire. Such facts beggar
description.

At 6 p.m., a patrol under Captain Bruce found that
the battalion was not linked up with the yeomanry on the
right. And during the night 150 men, under Captain

SUVLA, AUGUST— SEPTEMBER 103

Stevenson, began to dig a connecting trench in the open.
But slow progress was made, and the men were picked
off all too easily. During the day it was realised that the
advance had fizzled out, and at 6 p.m. the battalion moved
back behind Chocolate Hill, in order to take over trenches
on the left of the 87th Brigade.

During the night of the 22nd the battalion took over
the fire trench from the 6th Royal Welch Fusiliers. The
position was beginning to harden in this part of the
peninsula. The fine hope that sped the Suvla battles
had faded away, and it became necessary to secure a real
grip on the ground already won. Consolidation was
pressed on, and trenches were dug to connect up with
the 88th Brigade on the left. The position was exposed,
life unusually precarious even for the peninsula. All
rations had to be brought up by night. But the Fusiliers
concentrated on their work, and the trenches and the whole
position were improved and strengthened. A large draft
brought the strength of the battalion to 16 officers and
1,015 other ranks, higher than it had ever been in Gallipoli,
and 150 yards of the Dublins' line was taken over.

On relief, the battalion, after a week spent in dug-outs,
embarked for Imbros on September 8th. It was their
first rest for six weeks, almost all of which had been spent
in the front trench under constant rifle and shell fire.
That week over 200 men were down with diarrhoea, and
another of the perils of the peninsula began to be experi-
enced. The casualties up to this time (September 14th)
were as follows : —

Other

Officers.

Ranks.

Dead .

. 19

260

Wounded

. 40

914

Sick .

. 24

376

Missing

• 7

90 1,646

With so terrible a disproportion in officer casualties

104 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

it was obvious that there would be a shortage ; and this
was a characteristic of all the British units in Gallipoli.
Of all the original officers of the battalion not one had been
able to see the campaign through, and only 166 other
ranks had escaped wounds. Two officers, Guyon and
Cripps, and about ioo other ranks had returned from
hospital.

On September 21st the battalion embarked in such
rough weather that it was with the greatest difficulty
the men could be transferred from lighters to the ship.
But at length this was achieved without mishap, and the
troops returned to Suvla, where they relieved the S.W.
Borderers in the firing line. During this tour of the front
trenches parties of the 2/3 London Regiment, who had
only recently landed in Gallipoli, were attached for
instructional purposes. It was a strange chance that
cast these two battalions of the regiment together. The
2/3 Londons had replaced the 1/3 in the Malta
garrison, and then, in April, 1915, had left for Khartum.
Detachments were also stationed at Atbara and Suikat.
In Gallipoli they reinforced the 86th Brigade, and took
part in various minor engagements.

The last days of September saw almost perfect weather.
The days were warm and sunny, the nights cool. It
seemed as if the terrible peninsula, which was yet to show
its worst, was, for the moment, determined to exhibit its
best. Under such conditions labour seemed no great
hardship, and the men settled down to the never-ceasing
task of improving the trenches. In early October they
took over a new stretch of fire line from the Munsters and
a company of the Dublins, and at once set to work like
ants on improving these positions. A new fire trench
was constructed, and a communication trench to it. In
the latter task Second Lieutenant Jepson was killed
(October 16th) and Lieutenant Fletcher was wounded.
But the battalion here, as everywhere, seemed imbued
with a divine discontent. The perfect alignment required
the assimilation of some elements of the Turkish system,

SUVLA, OCTOBER— NOVEMBER 105

and so three night attacks were made, the last on October
22nd. These operations won the congratulations of the
corps commander.

On October 18th the 2/4 Battalion London Regiment
landed at Cape Helles. They had left Malta in August
for Egypt, and had been two months in camp at Alex-
andria. During their service in Gallipoli they were
attached to the Royal Naval Division, and took part in
the trench warfare until the evacuation.

It was in the latter part of October that Guyon, com-
manding the 2nd Battalion, fell ill with appendicitis,
and for a week he lay in his dug-out before it was
possible to remove him to hospital. It was at this
time, too, that the pace of the operations on the
peninsula settled down as though for an indefinitely long
tenure. From the view-point of the 2nd Battalion this
period was marked by ingenuity and daring initiative.
On November 2nd a small body attempted to pull away
the Turkish wire en bloc with ropes. Unfortunately, the
atmosphere had sapped the fibre of the ropes, and the
exploit proved more ingenious than serviceable. Turkish
sniping posts received one or two unwelcome visits from
bombing parties. There were several good reconnaissance
patrols. But, despite all attentions, the Turkish snipers
proved a pest to the end, and on November 12th Second
Lieutenant E. J. Haywood, the acting brigade machine
gun officer, was killed while visiting a machine gun post.

Lord Kitchener had visited Gallipoli and passed through
Greece on his way home again when the worst calamity
befell the batallion. November 26th dawned fine, and
so continued until about 5 p.m., when it began to rain.
Almost at once it became a characteristic tropical down-
pour. In an hour there was a foot of water in the trenches.
From the hills where the Turks lay a tremendous flood
of water swept towards the Fusiliers' position.* The
barriers reared so painfully against the Turks were swept

* " The Royal Fusiliers suffered much more than any other regi-
ment " (" The Dardanelles Campaign," Nevinson, p. 384).

106 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

away in a flash. In a few minutes the face of the country
had changed. Into the trenches swept a pony, a mule,
and three dead Turks. Several men were drowned. The
whole area became a lake. The communication trenches
were a swirl of muddy water. All that could be seen was
an occasional tree and a muddy bank where the parados
had been particularly high. The bulk of the battalion
had scrambled out of the trenches, and stood about on
the spots which remained above water, soaked to the skin,
and at least half of them without overcoats or even rifles.
The moon lit up these small knots of shivering men on
little banks of mud in a waste of water. Not a shot was
fired on either side. The common calamity had enforced
an efficient truce.

Orders came by telephone that the battalion was to hold
on to the line at all costs. Meanwhile two orderlies,
Frost and James, had been sent to brigade headquarters,
and had been compelled to swim most of the way. About
10 p.m. the water subsided slightly, and the men threw
up rough breastworks of mud. There they lay huddled
together in extreme discomfort, cut through by a piercing
wind. The next day the trenches were still from 4 to 5 feet
deep, and the men were forced to keep to them. The truce
had ended as strangely as it had begun, and any one show-
ing above the trenches was liable to meet the familiar fate .
Captain Shaw was shot dead, Lieutenant Ormesher was
mortally wounded ; and with such object lessons the
bitter discomforts of the trenches were made to seem pre-
ferable. In the afternoon the wind rose again. It became
intensely cold. A blizzard swept the country. Men were
sent back to hospital ; but some of them died on the way,
from exposure and exhaustion. Two of them, belonging
to W Company, who shared this fate, had struggled on
until they found some sort of shelter near the Salt Lake.
There they had paused to rest. The younger of the two
could probably have got back to camp alone, but he would
not leave his comrade in the storm and darkness and snow.
The next morning they were found together — frozen stiff.

SUVLA, THE GREAT FLOOD 107

The younger, his arms round his companion, held a piece of
broken biscuit in each frozen hand, and there were biscuit
crumbs frozen into the moustache of the elder man.

Under such conditions the tacit truce was renewed.
Rum and whisky were brought up to the trenches ; but
with the utmost difficulty.

At midnight on the 27th, the wind was colder, the snow
thicker. About 4 a.m. (November 28th) the commanding
officer and the adjutant were the only survivors in the
reserve line ; and it was clear that even superhuman
endurance had limits. Permission was obtained to bring
the battalion back to the brigade nullah, where the ground
was higher and more sheltered. There were only about
300 left in the firing line, and they were got back with
great difficulty. Hardly a man could walk normally.
The trench was crossed by a single plank. A few of the
men were shot as they staggered across. Some failed to
get back at all. Others were kicked along with merciful
brutality, or they would have given up the struggle. There
are few pictures in military history which equal in poign-
ancy that of this little band who, having faced what was
almost beyond the power of men, struggled back to life
from the very gates of death.

By 7 a.m. the battalion had arrived at the nullah, where
they were given warm food and put into blankets. The
majority were taken to hospital during the day suffering
either from exposure or frost-bite. The strength of the
battalion was now 11 officers and 105 other ranks. A
party of men, under Second Lieutenant Camies, were sent
back to the Dublin Castle post to hold on to next evening.
On the 29th it froze hard, and after midnight it was found
that the party from another regiment who were to have
relieved Second Lieutenant Camies, had lost their way.
At 4 a.m. (November 30th) Camies and his men were found
still at their posts, but in an almost helpless condition.
Sergt. -Major Paschall was sent to take out the relieving
party and bring back Camies. The outpost on return all
went to hospital, and at 4 p.m. roll call showed only 10

108 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

officers and 84 other ranks (70 effective) remaining. The
storm had wrought a greater havoc than any battle.*

On December 2nd the draining of the reserve trench was
begun, and on December 3rd the weather became a little
warmer. Some drafts arrived., and the battalion, organised
in two companies, began to hold the Dublin Castle position
by companies, forty-eight hours at a time. On the 13th
the line was handed over to the 88th Brigade, and on the
following day the battalion embarked for Mudros, and after
a day's rest proceeded once more to Helles. Here the time
was spent in training and fatigues until December 31st,
when the news of the approaching evacuation was received.
A line of defences was at once mapped out, and work
begun on them. At 10 p.m. on January 2nd the two
companies embarked on a trawler from " W " beach. A
few hours earlier the beach was being shelled, but the
actual embarkation was uneventful. The next day the
battalion was transhipped to S.S. Caledonia on arrival at
Mudros, and the course was set for Alexandria. On
January 8th they arrived at Alexandria and entrained for
Suez.

It was little more than a year since the battalion, a
splendid fighting unit, had reached this very place,
travelling in the opposite direction. The intervening
period enshrined one of the most terrible experiences any
soldiers were called upon to suffer. But the 2nd Battalion
can look back with pride on this campaign in Gallipoli.
In attack, in defence, in endurance they were, as a close
observer said more than once, " beyond praise." j

* The 2/3 Londons also suffered very terribly in this storm, being
reduced to 4 officers and 60 men.

f Brigade Major, 86th Brigade. See p. 96.

CHAPTER VII

THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME

By a strange coincidence the 2nd Battalion made its
second debut in major operations in another attempt to
achieve the impossible. On this occasion it took part with
the 29th Division in the holding attack, north of the Ancre,
which was launched simultaneously with the opening of
the Somme battle on July 1st, 1916.

At the battle of Loos the role of the British Army had
been subsidiary to that of the French. Neither men nor
material justified the hope of the army playing a part of
decisive importance. But at the battle of the Somme
there were ample numbers ; and the army had increased
until, on the Western Front, it commanded 660,000
bayonets and sabres. And the atmosphere in which the
battle was launched was completely changed. Loos was
fought when the Russian Army appeared to be at its last
gasp. Russia had already won a striking victory when
the battle of the Somme began ; Italy had recovered from
the Austrian attack in the Trentino, and France had
weathered the attack at Verdun, though with heavy loss.
The expansion of the Royal Fusiliers was symptomatic of
the change in the equilibrium on the west. There were
now twenty-one battalions in France, in addition to
battalions in the Balkans and in Africa.

Beaumont Hamel. — From first to last no fewer than
twenty battalions of Royal Fusiliers were engaged in the
battle of the Somme. But no other Fusilier unit fought
so unsatisfying an action with such heavy loss as did the
2nd Battalion. Its role was to hold the German reserves
and occupy his artillery in order to assist the main attack
south of the Ancre. But, as ill-fortune would have it, the

no ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

enemy had expected the main attack on the front allocated
to holding and subsidiary attacks, and the units engaged
there suffered accordingly.

The preparations for the opening of the first great British
attack in France had been very elaborate, and on the front
of the division, north of the 29th, they included the driving
of an enormous mine towards the Hawthorne Redoubt.
The explosion of this mine was to launch the battalion's
attack and provide its first objective. The Fusiliers lay
just north of the Ancre, below Beaumont Hamel, which
nature and artifice had turned into a very formidable
fortress. The troops were in position at 5.15 a.m., and
the bombardment became terrific. Shortly afterwards
a smoke barrage was put down, and then at 7.20 a.m. the
mine was exploded, filling the air with a cloud of debris.
At once D Company rushed forward with machine guns
to occupy the crater, but they were met by a heavy
German barrage and machine gun fire. Five minutes later
was zero hour, and the whole line advanced.

Upon the battalion front the attack never had any
chance of success. When D Company reached the mine
crater they were only able to occupy the nearer lip as the
other side was already held by the Germans. No advance
could be made there, and, on the rest of the front few of the
men reached the enemy's wire. The British barrage was
persistent in its attentions to the second and third lines
of the German first defensive system, with the consequence
that the battle was restricted to the first line where, armed
with an ample supply of machine guns, the enemy was
able to crush every attempt to rush it. At mid-day the
few men remaining in No Man's Land had to give up the
futile attempt and retire. The losses of the battalion had
been very terrible. Major Cripps who had been ordered
to brigade headquarters to be brigade major, was
seriously wounded within two hours. Lieut. -Colonel A. V.
Johnson was buried and wounded in the front line trench
by a shell from one of our own batteries. He attempted
to carry on, but was clearly unfit to do so and was evacuated.

Major-General Sir W. B. Hickie, K.C.B., who commanded
the i6th Division from December, 1915, until it was broken

up in April, 1918.

BEAUMONT-HAMEL, JULY 1ST, 1916 in

Captain Goodliffe, who was to have occupied the
German front line when captured, examined the wounded
in order to gain information. One poor fellow, whose
jaw was shattered, could only mumble, but he insisted
on telling his story. A guess was made at his meaning,
" We are doing no good on the right." When this was
repeated to him, he nodded and smiled, and went off to the
dressing-station. Such was the spirit of the men in one
of the worst experiences of the war.

The total casualties for the day amounted to 490,
including 20 officers, three of them killed. This was in
addition to the eight officers who became casualties during
the preliminary bombardment. Lieut. -Colonel G. S.
Guyon was killed while gallantly leading the 16th Battalion
West Yorks. The battalion had suffered, in fact, worse
than in the landing in Gallipoli, and drastic reorganisation
was necessary. Captain Swifte assumed command with
Captain Goodliffe as second and Lieutenant P. T. 0. Boult
as Adjutant.

Dearden and Baldwin alone of the officers who went over
the top did not become causalties and the former had his
steel helmet dented by a shell. For forty-eight hours the
wounded dribbled in, some of them mad. The Germans
left their trenches under a Red Cross flag and collected
some of the wounded. They also removed Lewis guns on
stretchers, a slight blot on otherwise unexceptional
behaviour !

On July 2nd the artillery was extremely active on both
sides and the day was given over to the salvage of dead
and wounded. On the 4th the 2nd Battalion were relieved
by two battalions of the 4th Division, and later in the
month they passed from the Somme area.

Gommecourt. — Farther north, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th
Londons had been involved in the subsidiary attack south
of the Gommecourt salient, the 1st being in divisional
reserve. The 2nd Londons lay in the front line until
1.30 p.m., when D Company were ordered up to the
first German line (Ferret Trench) ; but Lieutenant H.

112 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

W. Everitt and several men were hit as they left the
trenches and the company made three unsuccessful
attempts to cross the open in the face of the artillery and
machine gun fire. A little later A and C Companies were
directed to make good the German front line on the left
and right of Ferret Trench and to recover parts of the
trenches beyond. C, on the left, was held up before the
German wire. Captain Handyside was wounded about
15 yards from the front line but crawled forward encourag-
ing his men until killed by a shell. After dark about fifty
of the men, including many wounded, crawled back.
A Company fared similarly, losing all its officers and all
but 35 men ; and at 3.15 p.m. the battalion were ordered
to cease the attempt to reinforce and to hold the old front
line. Soon after noon the Germans showed a white flag
in Ferret trench and an informal truce took place for about
an hour for the collection of wounded. Ten minutes
before the end of the truce the Germans gave warning by
firing shells over the men. Some of the wounded stated
that the Germans had given them coffee during the night.
On July 3rd the battalion received the congratulations
of the divisional general on their gallantry. Indeed,
there was no lack of courage and the 2nd Londons lost
12 officers, including Captains Handyside and Garland
killed, and 241 other ranks.

The role of the 3rd Londons was to dig a communication
trench from " Z" hedge to the junction of Fir and Firm
Trenches — on the left of the point which C Company of the
3rd Londons attacked ; but when this was begun at
10.10 a.m., the German barrage was so heavy that the task
had to be abandoned. " Z" hedge, occupied by Second
Lieutenant Johnson and No. 15 Platoon was so heavily
shelled that at 1.15 p.m. only Johnson and one man were
left. The battalion lost 3 officers and 120 other ranks.

The 4th Londons supported the attack on the right of
the 3rd, and they also came under so heavy a fire that any
considerable or lasting success was impossible. At
8.45 a.m. two companies were ordered to support the

THE TERRITORIALS AT GOMMECOURT 113

Rangers in the German front trench (Fetter) ; but, although
six runners were despatched with the message by different
routes and two others after an interval of fifteen minutes,
only one returned, having failed to locate the left company.
The others were all killed. A Company, very gallantly
led by Captain A. R. Moore, went forward and pushed up
to the second German line, but at that point all the officers
had become casualties and all but 18 men. The two
platoons of C Company who went forward suffered little
more than the two who had not received the order, owing
to the front line trench being destroyed by the German
barrage. The company lost all their officers and were
brought out of action by C.S.M. Davis. B Company,
whose role was to " clear up," lost very terribly, and only
about 10 men got back from the German line. The
battalion had 23 officers and 700 other ranks, head-
quarters and firing line on going into action, but only
7 officers and 356 other ranks answered the roll call that
night. But they had shown a fine courage and discipline,
and, in the end, the function of the 56th Division had been
fulfilled.

Montauban. — The nth Royal Fusiliers took part
in the attack of the 18th Division towards Montauban.
It was their first battle and they engaged in it with
peculiar zest. They had already tested the effect of our
bombardment in a raid on June 27th/28th, in which
Second Lieutenant W. R. Havard gained the M.C. ; and
by 2 a.m. on July 1st they were in battle positions, as the
left assaulting battalion of the brigade. About 4.30 a.m.
tea was sent up and was warmly appreciated, for a fine
rain was falling and the men were thoroughly chilled.
About 7 a.m. a thick mist shrouded the foreground ; but
before 7.30 it had cleared and the men went over the top
" like bloodhounds let loose from the leash." The
German trenches had been so battered that it was only
with the utmost difficulty the men carried out the pre-
arranged plan. The Fusiliers ran through the German
barrage and went across their front line in great style.

ii4 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

An attempt to check the advance from Austrian Support
was dealt with, one of the machine guns being rushed by
Lance-Corporal A. Payne. Between Bund Trench and
Pommiers Trench, a space of some 500 yards, uncut wire
was encountered by the battalion on the right of the
Fusiliers, and the consequent check was seized upon by
the Germans in Mametz to strike against the battalion's
left flank. Second Lieutenant Parr-Dudley turned his
platoon half-left and, with a vigorous charge, accounted
for the small enemy party, but lost his life in the action.

A small party bombed up Black Alley, leading to
Pommiers Trench. Private W. T. Taverner, locating a
machine gun in the latter trench, and unable to get at the
gunner, won a M.M. by standing on top of the emplace-
ment and directing the waves right and left. Private
J. Nicholson shot six German snipers and then knocked
out a machine gun. And so by numerous acts of indivi-
dual bravery and initiative Pommiers Trench was won,
the Fusiliers securing a machine gun. There was then a
pause and a Fusilier officer noted that " the men were by
this time quite cool and collected, and apparently very
happy. Several of them were holding miniature sing-
songs, whilst others were energetically shaking hands and
wishing their officers good luck."

Pommiers Redoubt had still to be taken, and this was
the worst stage of the day's fighting. Captain Johnson
was held in Black Alley by a machine gun, and could not
approach that way. He then attempted to take the
redoubt from the rear. Second Lieutenant Savage
accounted for the snipers in Beetle Alley, on the north-
west, and Johnson was able to bring his machine guns up
to enfilade the front of the redoubt. With this assistance
the Bedfordshires were able to advance frontally, and the
obstacle was won at 9.30 a.m. Beetle Alley was rushed
shortly afterwards, but an hour's delay was experienced
here, as the flanking battalions were not up. At length
the advance was resumed, and in the afternoon the
Fusiliers were 1,000 yards still farther ahead, in White

MONTAUBAN AND LA BOISSELLE 115

Trench, below Mametz Wood. A line of strong points
was begun later in the day. " It was very hard for the
diggers, but it was really pitiful to see the others. Every-
body was tired out, and I had to keep on constantly
waking the men up, for as soon as they touched the
ground they automatically succumbed into deep sleep.
It is not altogether fun being so tired as we all were in the
face of the enemy." * Digging was continued until dawn
was breaking.

The battalion had made one of the deepest advances
of the day. On July 2nd the Bedfordshires were with-
drawn, and the Fusiliers took over the defence of the
brigade front till the following day, when, on relief, they
returned to Carnoy. They had lost very heavily. Savage,
Parr-Dudley, Mild and Greenwood were killed, and
49 O.R. ; 148 were wounded, four were suffering from
shell-shock, and 17 missing — a very much smaller casualty
list than that of the 2nd Battalion, who had fought
their heroic abortive battle at Beaumont Hamel. On
July 5th they were visited by officers of the 4 th Battalion,
who were later to take over from them.

La Boisselle. — On the following days the victory of
July 1st was rounded off in a series of local operations.
On the 3rd the 9th Battalion were in support, just north
of Oviilers, during the 12th Division's unsuccessful attack
on that day. Four days later the 13th Battalion had
moved to the right of the 9th, and delivered an attack.
La Boisselle had fallen on the 3rd, with part of Oviilers.
But the latter and Contalmaison were unreduced, and the
13th Battalion struck between the two.f At 2 a.m. on
July 7th the 13th Battalion was assembled in the old
German line in front of La Boisselle, with orders not to
attack without orders from the brigade, or until the
flanks were well ahead ; but at 8.25 the flanks had
advanced, and, touch being lost with the brigade, the

* Captain Aley's diary.

t This attack was of some importance, but it is not mentioned in
the despatch, nor in any book that I have seen .

1 %

n6 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

order to advance was given. Major Ardagh led off with
Nos. i and 2 Companies, with bombing sections covering
the flanks. Due east of La Boisselle some resistance was
encountered that held up No. 2 Company for some time,
and when this was overcome, the right flank had lost
touch with the brigade on the south. The battalion had
lost direction, and at 9.30 a.m. the right flank was swung
back to within about 1,000 yards due west of Contal-
maison. The line was consolidated, and it was at this
point that casualties were experienced from the German
artillery. On the following day the battalion was ordered
to push on to the next line. Captain Nelson took Nos. 3
and 4 Companies to this objective, which stretched from
a little below the main Albert road to about 700 yards
west of Contalmaison. A small party pushed too far
ahead, and suffered severely ; but in the two days'
operations, with fairly moderate casualties, the battalion
had advanced the line materially, captured a battery of
field guns, a few machine guns, and nearly 200 prisoners.
Lieutenant Bleaden was killed on July 7th ; Captains Bliss
and Nelson and Second Lieutenants Lewis and Morgan
were wounded. The casualties in other ranks were 20
killed, 127 wounded and 13 missing.

Ovillers. — On the 7th two other Fusilier battalions
were also engaged in the battle. The 8th and 9th
Battalions of the 36th Brigade, with the 7th Sussex
between them, made another attempt to capture Ovillers,
and few more costly actions were fought in the whole of
the battle of the Somme. The 8th Battalion was on the
right, and the plan was to take Ovillers from the S.W.
flank. The bombardment began at 4.30 a.m., and at
8.26 the two leading companies, A and D, crawled over
the parapet and lay out in the open. The weather was
bad ; and though no rain fell during the night, the fumes
of the gas shells were blanketed into the hollows of the
ground, and formed a death-trap for many who fell
wounded. Lieut. -Colonel Annesley, waving his stick, led
the attack as the barrage lifted, and the men leaped

ATTACK ON OVILLERS, JULY 7TH 117

forward into a withering machine-gun fire. The Prussian
Guards who held these battered positions were worthy
foemen, and though the first and second trenches were
captured, the cost was very terrible. Annesley, a most
gallant officer, was early hit in the wrist. Later he was
wounded in the ankle ; but he still kept on, and for a
time the final objective was in the 8th's hands. Annesley
was at length shot above the heart, and fell into a shell-
hole, where he lay till evening, when he was taken to
Albert and died that night. Shortly after noon the
Fusiliers were in Ovillers, and the brigade held about half
of it on a north and south line. But every officer engaged
was either killed, wounded or missing. Captain Feather-
stonhaugh, who had been wounded, but refused to leave,
was killed. So also were Captains Chard and Franklin.
Captain and Adjutant Robertson- Walker was never heard
of again, and Second Lieutenant Procter was killed ;
17 other officers were wounded. The battalion had gone
into action 800 strong ; they mustered 160 at night, but
held on until relieved on the following day.

The 9th had fared similarly. They had fought under
the same conditions, and their losses were only slightly
less than those of the 8th Battalion. Rawlins, Cook,
Philipps, Street, Osborne, Bindett, Peacock and Manson
were killed, and Vere-Smith later died of wounds. Spiers,
Brown, Bastable, Twiddy, Garrood (missing), Mackenzie
and Evans were wounded. In all about 180 men came
out. The gallant survivors of both battalions were
congratulated, and it is merely the sober truth that
the ordeal through which they had come was unique.
Ovillers held out some days longer, and it was not taken
until the village had been more completely obliterated
than any other in the Somme area and its garrison reduced
to 126. The two Fusilier battalions carried the reduction
to its penultimate stage.

When the 10th Battalion came up on July 10th they
left one amazing experience to go to another. On the
night of the 9th the battalion camp at Albert was heavily

uS ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

shelled, and a grenade dump (50,000) detonated, wounding
an officer, killing one man and wounding two others. But
in the front line death and desolation were everywhere.
La Boiselle was level with the ground. The trenches were
battered and exposed. Dead bodies lay about on all
sides. At 9 p.m. on July 10th C and B Companies were
pushed up in relief of the 13th Rifle Brigade, who, attack-
ing towards Pozieres, had suffered from machine-gun fire ;
and the battalion lay in advanced positions under heavy
shell fire for two days. The men preferred attack when
losses sustained went to pay the price of some tangible
success, or at least to further an obvious purpose.

Trones Wood. — One platoon (No. 14) of D Company
of the nth Battalion assisted the 12th Middlesex in their
successful attack on Trones Wood on July 14th to 15th.
As they were moving up from Maricourt in the early hours
of the 15th they ran into a barrage on the Maricourt-
Briquetin road. They had " one casualty, a poor devil
who gets his head blown off by a large piece of shrapnel.
Still no signs of fear. The men keep in their fours, and go
on as if nothing had happened." * Aley was wounded in
Trones Wood, and the platoon suffered heavily. After
serious losses from the continual bombardment the
battalion left the Somme area on the 18th.

Pozieres. — Meanwhile the 10th Battalion had been
engaged, and had fought their way to the orchard on the
south-west entrance of Pozieres. At 9 a.m. on July 15th
they had advanced up Sausage Valley in support of the
main attack. About 300 yards from the village they were
held up by machine-gun fire. The hollow road seemed to
be blocked with troops ; and it was obvious the attack
had failed before it was abandoned. The CO. asked per-
mission to place a barrage at the southern end of the
village and to take part in the attack. The battalion
advanced with a dash, and Lieutenant F. M. Taylor, with
D Company, seized the orchard, and an attempt was made
to penetrate the outlying orchards. But this movement

* Officer's diary.

POZIERES, JULY 15TH 119

was defeated by concentrated machine-gun fire, and the
advanced positions had to be evacuated. Headquarters
in chalk pit, about 900 yards from the edge of the village,
had been in constant communication with all the com-
panies, and in the afternoon a renewed effort was made.
After a pause for reorganisation the village was bom-
barded from 5 to 6 p.m., and the signal was given for the
advance. But at this point there was an unfortunate
mischance. The rockets failed, owing to dampness ; and
the battalion did not start in unison. Some advanced,
others still waited, and the blow failed. Most determined
and repeated attempts were made to rush the village, but
nothing could live in such a machine-gun fire. The
battalion were driven back to cover in the afternoon
positions, and the 10th Loyal North Lancashires took over
the positions after dark. All the company commanders
were casualties, and so heavily had the battalion lost that,
with the division, they were taken out of the line.

High Wood. — To the south-east the 4th Battalion were
assisting in the capture of the Bazentins. On July 8th
they had relieved the nth Battalion at Carnoy, and on
the 14th they provided working and carrying parties for
the brigade attack on Bazentin-le-Grand. A few days
later the 20th Battalion were sent to hold the front line in
Bazentin, and, later, supported the 19th Brigade attack
on High Wood. As the brigade cleared the southern end
of the wood the battalion cleared up and consolidated in
their rear, and at least this part of the wood was securely
held that night. They organised a front and support line
across the wood from east to west, with a strong post in
the support line, and held on to the position until relieved
at midnight. Their task cost them dearly. Lieut. -Colonel
Bennett was wounded ; Captain Toller, Lieutenant Wall-
work, Lieutenant Rawson, Lieutenant Palmer, Second
Lieutenant Price and Second Lieutenant Coventry were
killed ; Second Lieutenant Hine was among the missing ;
Captain Hollingworth, Second Lieutenant Bell, Second
Lieutenant Cooke, Second Lieutenant Brooke, Second

120 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Lieutenant Fabricius, Second Lieutenant Ives and Second
Lieutenant Herbert were wounded. The casualties in
other ranks were 375 killed, wounded and missing.

Delville Wood. — On the 20th the 4th Battalion moved
up to Delville Wood, which saw a number of Fusilier
battalions in the next few days. This wood, which the
soldiers aptly called " Devil's Wood," was one of the many
German positions which were apparently captured many
times without ceasing to be the scene of very bitter
fighting. The South Africans had their outposts on the
outer fringes of the wood on the night of July 15th ; but
on the 1 8th a heavy German counter-attack swept away
the British troops, and in the recoil only the southern end
of the wood could be retained. The following day was
occupied by the struggle to clear the wood once again ; and
it was in the lull after the fighting had temporarily died
down that the Fusiliers took over from the Essex, Suffolk
and Welsh Fusiliers in the south-east of the wood.

It was a deadly area. Even in getting into position
40 casualties were experienced, but the battalion, who had
been complimented for their steadiness after Le Cateau,
showed no trace of wavering. There were practically no
trenches, and the position was methodically consolidated
under the worst conditions. A continuous trench line was
constructed, though the men were working so close to the
Germans that many British shells fell into the trench.
At 10 p.m. on the 21st the Germans delivered a local
counter-attack. Well prepared and vigorously pressed, it
still disturbed the Fusiliers very little. The repulse cost
the battalion a number of casualties : Major Wrenford,
Second Lieutenant Cook, and 30 other ranks were wounded.
Second Lieutenant Sparkes was shot through the head
earlier in the day. He was in command of Z Company,
and was looking for a place for two of his platoons. His
was a well-known Fusilier name.

When the 4th Battalion were relieved at midnight on the
24th they had lost 12 officers and 340 other ranks, killed,
wounded and missing, in thirteen days, without taking

DELVILLE WOOD, JULY 27TH 121

part in any attack. In beating off the counter-attack in
Delville Wood they lost scarcely more than the daily
average. The losses under such conditions form a striking
illustration of the plane on which the Somme battle was
fought.

The 2nd Division had now been brought to the Somme
area, and the first of its four Fusilier battalions to enter
the battle zone was the 17th. It was also their first
entrance into any battle zone when they took over the
support line at Longueval Alley on July 25th. We have
already seen that actual attack was not necessary for
the suffering of casualties, and Lieutenant Richmond was
the first to succumb. There was a heavy bombardment
with tear shells, and he was gassed on the first day in the
trenches. On the following day there was little inter-
mission in the German shelling, and with every precaution
15 further casualties were suffered. On the 27th A and B
Companies went to Delville Wood in the afternoon, and
on this occasion there were 118 casualties.

But this was the day on which Delville Wood was again
overrun. Four battalions of the Royal Fusiliers had their
share in this memorable exploit, and the place of honour
was given to the 23rd Battalion. They had had an uncom-
fortable time in Bernafay Wood previous to the attack.
Words fail to do justice to the situation at this moment.
It was hot weather. The ground was pitted and torn by
shell fire. Dead bodies lay about, and before the troops
began to move up the Germans had indulged in a heavy
bombardment with gas shells. Fortunately a welcome
breeze made the wearing of masks unnecessary. The
approach was covered by the British barrage, and near
Longueval one shell fell close to the Fusiliers, badly
wounding one man.

" It's hard lines," said the man when the CO. went to
him.

" I know it is," said the CO., " but you'll soon be all
right. The stretcher-bearers are coming."

" Oh ! it's not that," was the man's rejoinder. " It's

122 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

being hit just now ! Here have I been all this time in

France without having a real go at the b s, and now

the chance has come, here I go and get knocked out." *

The battalion formed up in a trench at the edge of the
wood with the ist K.R.R.C. on the right and the ist Royal
Berks in support. The coolness of the men was remark-
able, and one man, hearing that there were still five
minutes to zero, calmly went back to his breakfast. The
position to be assaulted was as difficult as any in the
Somme area. The wood was now merely a collection of
bare stumps, but the trees which had crashed and the thick
undergrowth provided ideal obstacles and cover. The
ground seemed to be alive with machine guns, and the
German barrage effectually cut off all approach to the
wood. The defending troops were the Brandenburgers ;
and after the first objective had been captured, numbers
of them were taken prisoner.

The barrage lifted at 7.10 a.m., and the first wave, con-
sisting of A and B Companies, who had formed up in front
of the existing trenches when the barrage began, went
forward, and with little opposition captured the Princes
Street line. This avenue practically cut the wood in two
from east to west ; and it was occupied and consolidation
begun within nine minutes of the advance. D and C
Companies had occupied the line vacated by the first
wave, and when, at 7.40 a.m., the barrage lifted again,
the second wave passed through the first. The barrage
had lifted again (8.10 a.m.), and the advance began on the
final objective, while the second wave was struggling with
a redoubt on the left front. Excellently covered and
strongly manned, the obstacle seemed to defy capture
until two Lewis guns were sent up and placed so as to take
the redoubt from the flank. Assisted by bombers, the Lewis
guns soon put an end to the resistance. Two machine guns
were put out of action, and Sergeant Royston, finding a
third intact, turned it upon part of the garrison who were

* Major N. A. Lewis, D.S.O., M.C., quoted in " The 23rd (Service)
Battalion Royal Fusiliers."

DELVILLE WOOD CLEARED, JULY 27TH 123

escaping. Shortly afterwards (9.40 a.m.) the final objective
was captured, and the men dug in on the further edge of
the wood, with a good field of fire. The rest of the day
was occupied in dealing with attempts to get round the
flanks.

At n a.m. the 1st K.R.R.C, who held the exposed flank
on the right, were attacked by German bombers, and B
Company bombers and a machine gun were sent to support.
At this moment also began the enemy bombardment of the
whole of the wood, and, persisting until midnight, it made
life very precarious. Most of the casualties suffered by
the 23rd were sustained in this ceaseless fire. But their
position was safe compared with that of the K.R.R.C. The
17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers lay south of the wood with
the 22nd Battalion forward on their left. A and B Com-
panies of the 22nd were sent up as carrying parties, and
passed the headquarters of the 17th with S.A.A. and tools.
At 1 p.m. a message was sent to the 22nd to reinforce the
K.R.R.C. At 2 p.m. A and B Companies of the 17th
moved up to Delville Wood, and before the end of the
day every available man of the 22nd was thrown into the
struggle on the right. At 3.30 p.m. a strong counter-
attack was delivered by the enemy on this flank, and the
situation was only cleared up by the assistance of the
23rd's bombers and the full remaining strength of the 22nd.
Captain Walsh collected all the carrying parties, to the
number of about 250, and organised them into a fighting
unit. Captain Gell took the last 100 men of C and D Com-
panies up to the wood from Bernafay Wood, and with
them held the south-east flank of the wood. The wood
undoubtedly justified its nickname on this day. Wherever
the men stood they were under shell fire, and it seemed
impossible that any troops should be left to hold what had
been won.

But at the end of the day the wood was handed over
intact ; and the 23rd, though they had lost 12 officers
(5 killed) and 276 other ranks, came out at night, jauntily
enough, smoking German cigars and well pleased with

124 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

themselves. Theirs had been the straighter task of over-
running German positions. They had taken six machine
guns and, with the K.R.R.C., 160 prisoners. The 22nd,
who had had the less stimulating task of beating off the
continued attacks of the enemy and of suffering their shell
fire, had possibly achieved a greater thing. Largely owing
to them, the flank was held up, and unless this had been
accomplished the wood would have been lost almost before
it was won. They lost Captain Grant, commanding the
brigade machine gun company, killed, 4 other officers
wounded, and 189 other ranks killed, wounded and missing.
The 17th lost Lieutenant Fletcher and Second Lieutenant
Penny killed, 3 officers wounded, and 113 other ranks
killed, wounded and missing.

On July 30th C Company of the 24th Battalion was
engaged. On the previous evening the battalion had
taken over the front line from the southern edge of Delville
Wood to Waterlot Farm, and on the 30th they advanced
against a German trench some 600 yards east of Waterlot
Farm. A thick mist lay over the ground as the men went
forward, and it was very difficult to keep direction. When
this initial and serious handicap had been overcome, it was
found that the German wire had been uncut. " The king
of the war," as the French called barbed wire, exercised
its sovereignty once again. Captain C. S. Meares was
killed on the wire, leading his men, and the company
fought valiantly, but to no purpose. C Company attacked
with 3 officers and 114 other ranks. One wounded officer
and 11 other ranks remained at the end of the day. Such
was the price paid for co-operation in the attack on
Guillemont.

During the next few days the 17th, 22nd and 23rd
Battalions saw further service in this very perilous sector.
On August 1st the 22nd Battalion moved into Delville
Wood. Lieut. -Colonel Barnett Barker was placed in
command of the wood, with the 23rd Battalion in support.
These dispositions remained in force until the night of
the 3rd, when the Royal Fusiliers were relieved during

NIGHT ATTACK, AUGUST 3RD 125

a heavy bombardment which caused a number of
casualties.

3^ Jf* 3|C JfC

Pozieres Ridge. — The 8th and 9th Battalions were
engaged once more in the first week of August in operations
about Pozieres. That these were minor operations does
not detract from their interest or from their influence on
the capture of the Pozieres Ridge. The 8th Battalion
attacked with the 6th Buffs. Their objective was a
section of 4th Avenue, a trench north-west of Pozieres.
The attack was made at n p.m. on the night of August 3rd,
and as the barrage lifted two platoons of A and B
Companies walked slowly forward until within 50 yards
of the trench, when they charged. The Germans were
taken completely by surprise, and the trench was captured.
The Germans sent up phosphorus red flares which lit up
the storming troops ; and they fought very well. Colonel
Cope, commanding the Buffs, personally reconnoitred the
ground during the attack, and owing to his prompt
decision, part of the 5th Avenue trench was also seized
and held. By midnight the position was being consoli-
dated, and the two battalions had captured 2 officers (one
wearing the Iron Cross) and 89 other ranks. Lieutenant
Wardrop and Second Lieutenant A. Stiles were killed in
the attack, and Second Lieutenant R. W. Hampton was
wounded, and there were about 150 other casualties.
About 1 a.m. a bombing block was established in the new
trench, and Captain Clarke held it against two enemy
attacks. As day broke on the 4th a company was seen
to be charging down on the battalion's right flank. Only
by good luck was disaster averted, for it was soon realised
that these were the Sussex, who had lost direction in the
dark.

The darkness made it difficult to determine the positions
with accuracy. At one time it was thought that Ration
Trench had been taken. When the mistake was discovered
later it was decided to attack the position in the evening
with the three battalions of the 36th Brigade, the 2nd

126 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Anzac Division co-operating with an advance to the north-
east of Pozieres. Night attacks have their own peculiar
difficulties and terrors. Even in broad daylight actions
could rarely be carried out exactly as they were planned.
So severe and constant was the bombardment by both
sides that even villages were difficult to recognise, and
trenches appeared to be little different from the pitted lines
of shell-holes.

In the attack on Ration Trench on August 4th many
circumstances conspired to add to the strain on the men.
The battalions engaged advanced on lines which might
have led to hopeless confusion and did, in fact, result in
isolated encounters of almost unimaginable horror. The
Sussex were moving against a section of the trench which
involved an attack in a westerly direction. The 9th
Fusiliers were directed partly to the north. The New
Zealands were striking north-east. Germans seemed to
turn up everywhere during the night : in front, on the
flanks, even in the rear, and the Fusiliers appeared to form
little islands in a sea of enemy. Zero was at 9.15 p.m.,
but detailed attack orders were not issued till 8.17, and
everything had to be arranged in less than an hour. The
9th Battalion moved off at 3 p.m. to take over part of the
8th Fusiliers' trenches, and were at once spotted by the
Germans and shelled on the way. About 6.30 p.m. they
were in position in parts of 3rd and 4th Avenues, approxi-
mately 1,000 yards due west of Pozieres, after losing
about 15 men while moving up.

An intense bombardment began at zero. Five minutes
later the two battalions advanced, and at about 50 yards
from Ration Trench charged. The objectives were gained
in less than an hour on the left, but on the right an
unknown trench held up the attackers. At 1 a.m. on the
5th came the first reports of Germans still existing between
the lines. The Fusiliers began to be sniped from the rear,
and the situation was not cleared up until the afternoon.
The 8th Battalion had charged over the trench on their
way to Ration Trench, and left unnoticed 2 officers and

FIGHTING NEAR POZIERES, AUGUST 5TH-6TH 127

100 other ranks. Lance-Corporal Camping * and one or
two men who could speak German crawled out of their
trench, though exposed to constant sniping, and threatened
the Germans with a severe bombardment if they did not
give themselves up before dark. The whole party then
surrendered. They were part of a Jaeger battalion who
had reached the trenches only a day or two before, and
they had decided to break through Ration Trench to their
own lines during the evening.

The two battalions were now in contact and engaged in
the work of consolidation. Bombing posts were organised
in Ration Trench, and the day (August 5th) was generally
quiet. But shortly after midnight a heavy bombardment
of the lines began, and the shelling continued until 4 a.m.
(6th). The 9th Battalion, lying west of the 8th, were
subjected to a determined counter-attack during this time.
Many of the men were quite new to warfare. For some it
was their first experience of actual righting, and their
bearing was admirable. The assault was made by
flammenwerfers, supported by bombers using smoke as a
screen. The flames burst through the clouds of smoke
from various directions, and all the conditions of panic
were present. The fumes alone were sufficient to over-
power some of the men. But no panic took place. The
situation was handled very coolly. The attack was made
on the north-east end of Ration Trench, and about 20 men
were extended in the open on either side of the trench with
two Lewis guns. The attack was thus beaten off with a
loss of only 40 yards of trench. Many fine incidents

* I have been continually amazed at the uncanny skill with which
published accounts of the various incidents of the war wrongly identify
the units engaged. The Royal Fusiliers came in for more than their
share of being passed over. An ironic poem written by Corporal
Warren, of the nth Battalion, in the rhythm of the British Grenadiers,
comments on this tendency.

" The papers get the money,
So they praise the Royal West Kents,"

is, perhaps, the least offensive distich. I am reminded of this by
Mr. Gibbs' attribution of the whole of this incident to the men of
Sussex, which in this case means the Sussex Regiment or nothing.

128 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

marked this defence. Private Leigh Rouse * (9th), who
had never visited the trenches before, was in the sap when
the flammenwerfer attack began. He managed to get
back along the trench and, though nearly choked with
fumes and with his clothes burnt, refused to go to the
dressing station. He continued to throw bombs until his
arm gave out, and then, joining the covering party, used
his rifle with great effect.

During the next night, when another attack was
expected, he remained close to the barricade. Sergeant
Charles Quinnell f twice went out from Ration Trench
with a patrol, and obtained valuable information. Most
of the men in his platoon had never been in a front line
trench before, and their remarkable coolness and endurance
were largely due to his fine example. Lancc-Corporal
Cyril Cross f took his Lewis gun into a shell-hole outside
the trench during the flammenwerfer attack, and engaged
the enemy, who were in great strength, at close range,
inflicting many casualties until his gun was put out of
action. Private Tom Crow f continued to throw bombs
from the very edge of the flames, showing a complete
disregard of the enemy. He was finally wounded by a
sniper as he was closely pursuing the enemy. All these
men belonged to A Company, commanded by Captain
G. L. Cazalet, M.C., who had led his men across the open
on the night of the 5th, in less than three-quarters of an
hour had taken his objective, and was responsible for the
defence of 500 yards of Ration Trench, the flank of which
was held by the enemy. Though wounded, he refused to
leave the trench ; and it was chiefly owing to his fine
example that his company, though almost quite new to
warfare, behaved so finely. He was awarded a well-
deserved D.S.O.

All day on the 6th and 7th the German bombardment
of the Fusiliers continued. In the afternoon of the latter
day the two battalions were relieved. Both had lost very

* Awarded M.M.
t Awarded D.C.M.

FOURTH BATTALION AT GUILLEMONT 129

heavily. In addition to those already mentioned, the
8th lost Lieutenant J. A. Pearson ; Captain S. H. Clarke
was wounded, and there were about 30 other ranks killed
and wounded. The losses of the 9th were heavier.
Green, Stevens, Lupton, Heaver and Bungay were killed ;
Knott, Cazalet, Pilgrim, Calwell, Fox, Thornton and
Fifoot were wounded ; and there were 281 other ranks
killed, wounded and missing. But they took prisoner
2 officers and 1 wounded officer with 135 other
ranks, and received congratulations from the Commander-
in-Chief. The battalions marched off to Bouzincourt,
and on the 10th lined the road at Senlis for the inspection
by the King and the Prince of Wales.

* * * *

Guillemont. — On the other operative flank of the
British attack several other Fusilier battalions were now
engaged. Of the two great pivots of the German defensive
in what Sir Douglas Haig calls the second phase of the
battle of the Somme one, Guillemont, still remained
untaken. It had been entered on July 30th, but was
evacuated, as the flanking positions still remained intact.
It was entered once more on August 8th, and again
abandoned for the same reason. From these two failures
it was evident that the capture of the village could not
be regarded safely as an isolated enterprise, and it was
accordingly arranged for a series of attacks in progressive
stages in conjunction with the French, whose sphere of
action was not 2,000 yards to the south.

Three battalions of the Royal Fusiliers played their
part in these operations. In " the first stage of the
prearranged scheme " * the 4th Battalion was engaged.
At this time Major H. E. Meade was in command, as
Lieut. -Colonel Hely-Hutchinson had been thrown from
his horse on the nth and had been removed to hospital.
On August 15th the battalion took over the trenches
facing the southern corner of Guillemont. The 1st
Battalion was only 1,000 yards to their rear, preparing

* Despatch.

F. K

130 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

to take its share in the struggle. On the way up the
4th had lost Second Lieutenant Goolden, who was killed
by a shell. The approach was across open country over
which the enemy had direct observation, and the Germans
had concentrated a heavy volume of machine gun fire in
the village. This may serve to explain why the attack
failed in spite of the most gallant and persistent efforts
of all ranks. The 4th had on their left flank the 24th
Division, and on their right the King's Liverpools. X and
Z Companies led the attack at 5.40 p.m. (August 16th)
after a short but intense bombardment, but they encoun-
tered a very heavy machine gun fire. Both company
commanders were killed as they crossed the parapet, and
before the fighting ceased every other officer had been
killed or wounded, and there were 160 other ranks
casualties. It was a discouraging episode ; and the badly
weakened unit were left to hold the original front line
under a heavy bombardment until the 18th, when a
further attempt was made by other troops. The battalion
passed to brigade reserve, and was organised into two
companies.

After this abortive attempt to eat into the Guillemont
defences the positions were bombarded for thirty-six
hours, when the 1st Battalion co-operated in immediate
support. They had been in the area from August 8th,
when they took over trenches from Delville Wood to
Trones Wood, with headquarters in Waterlot Farm. It
was a warm quarter, and two days after taking over the
line the situation was made still more uncomfortable by
one of those unhappy mischances which, apparently, could
not be altogether prevented. A number of our own
0/2 shells fell upon B Company, and caused 23 casualties.
Lieutenant W. van Grierson * showed great gallantry
in rescuing buried men, and, unfortunately, was mortally
wounded in so doing. Private Tanner * and Corporal
Silcox * courageously brought Private Lynch from No

* Van Grierson was awarded the M.C., Silcox and Tanner the M.M.,
for the same operation.

GUILLEMONT, AUGUST 17TH— i8th 131

Man's Land in broad daylight, from within 100 yards of
the German trenches, under heavy machine gun fire.

After a few days in the rear trenches, they took up their
positions for attack on the 17th. C Company was in
Trones Wood, supporting the 8th Buffs, A in Sherwood
Trench, in support of the 3rd Rifle Brigade, while B and
D occupied Dummy Trench and Longueval Alley. The
attack began at 3.30 p.m. on a broad front, with three
other divisions co-operating. The objective of the 3rd
Rifle Brigade was Guillemont station, while the 8th Buffs
were directed against a trench some 200 yards from the
front line in the direction of Ginchy. Both objectives
were attained. The station, lying on a light railway
just outside and to the north of Guillemont, had become
a tactical feature of some importance, and later in the
month it was the scene of a vigorous counter-attack.
Only on the extreme right of the 24th Division did the
attack fail, and this led to the postponement of a third
advance timed for 5.30 a.m. on the 19th. The battalion
on this occasion suffered 66 casualties, including three
officers wounded.

The 12th Battalion had been in reserve during the
battle. They had assisted in covering the attack on the
16th by putting up a smoke barrage on part of the front.
On the 18th they provided a party to consolidate during
the attack, and carrying parties for S.A.A. to the front
line. After dark No. 4 Company, under Captain Ander-
son, went up to the front fine and dug a communication
trench from the old fine to the new positions.
* * * *

One of the minor excitements of the battle occurred
early on August 21st. An ammunition dump in Bernafay
Wood was fired. Continuous explosions came from the
Stokes mortar ammunition. Flying splinters filled the
air, and men were blown bodily into the fire by the
explosion. R.S.M. Hack (1st Battalion) very gallantly
rescued wounded in the midst of the flying fragments of
exploding bombs, and there were many casualties in the

k a

132 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

attempts to put the fire out. Second Lieutenant Tiffany
(12th Battalion) rescued several men who had been blown
into the fire, and at length the mishap expended itself
without compelling the postponement of the afternoon
operations against Guillemont. The ist Battalion on this
occasion had two companies, A and D, engaged, with the
3rd Rifle Brigade on the left and the 8th Queen's (72nd
Brigade) on the right. The Fusiliers advanced at 3.30 p.m.
" Hill Street " and " Brompton Road "were the objectives.
The ist Battalion got away with great dash, and after a
strenuous fight drove the enemy out of the trench in front
of Hill Street ; but the flanking battalions were both held
up, and, although the Fusiliers pushed well ahead, it was
necessary to withdraw to the trench already mentioned.
A Company, under Captain Bell, went into battle only 70
strong, and both the company commanders and Second
Lieutenant Jacobs displayed great courage and coolness.
The headquarters bombers also did good service, and
Sergeant Pye, though wounded, volunteered to take a
message to his company commander. He was wounded
again as he returned. This was the ist Battalion's last
period of service in the Somme battle. On relief, the
following day, they went to Happy Valley and later to
Bussus : "a very pleasant place," notes the battalion
diary, " after the desolation in and around the villages of
the battle area." The battalion had suffered 403 casualties
during the Somme operations. Captain Bell was awarded
the D.S.O., Second Lieutenant Jacobs the M.C., R.S.M.
Hack the M.C., and Sergeant Pye the D.C.M.
* * * *

Fighting still continued in and about Delville Wood,
but on August 24th the situation was much improved by
an attack in which the 20th Royal Fusiliers took part.
The advance began at 5.45, and the battalion sent up
two platoons to occupy part of the trench captured
by the 100th Brigade. The trench lay to the west of
the northern part of Delville Wood, and the Fusiliers
took over a bombing post at the corner of the new

GUILLEMONT TO GINCHY 133

trench, and at once set about connecting it with the
support line.

The 12th Battalion were suddenly ordered up to this
sector of the front on September 1st. On the way up they
were delayed for two hours in Caterpillar Valley owing to
a very heavy gas barrage and the guides going astray.
Many of the men were very sick from the effects of the
gas, and it was only at 3.30 a.m. that the battalion arrived
in Carlton Trench, which lay between Delville Wood and
High Wood. The front here had been lifted well to the
north-east since the 20th Battalion had left, but the 3rd
Rifle Brigade and the 2nd Leinsters were very much
weakened in the forward positions. No. 3 Company was
sent up on the 1st to reinforce the 3rd Rifle Brigade, and
on the following day a platoon, ten bombers and one Lewis
gun of No. 1 Company were sent to the 2nd Leinsters in
the bombing post in Worcester Trench. The day was dull
and misty, and the Germans attacked this post with great
determination, but were repulsed, though the Lewis gun
team had several casualties. Early in the evening the
remainder of the battalion took over the trench held by
the 3rd Rifle Brigade, and on the following day co-operated
in the general attack which swept over Guillemont into
Ginchy. The 24th Division was represented in this attack
by the 8th Buffs.

At midday the whole line advanced. The sector between
High Wood and Delville Wood was obstinately defended,
and the Buffs and Fusiliers could make little impression
on it. The Buffs' main objective was the strong point at
the junction of the Wood Lane Trench and Tea Trench,
which lay at the north-west corner of Delville Wood.
No. 4 Company, under Captain Anderson, bombed up
Wood Lane towards the strong point ; but though the
Buffs attacked twice, they failed to reach their objective.
The artillery preparation had not been sufficient to rub
the surface off the opposition. From Orchard Trench the
Fusilier Lewis guns did considerable damage, and claimed
to have caused at least 100 casualties. But this was the

134 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

only success achieved on this small sector, and the
battalion suffered 58 casualties, 10 killed. They were
relieved on September 4th and went south to Fricourt,
and later left the Somme area.

Ginchy. — On September 3rd Ginchy was seized, as
well as Guillemont ; but the former could not be retained
in face of the immediate German counter-attacks, and
after three days' struggle the greater part of the village
reverted to the enemy. Preparations for a further attack
upon Ginchy continued without intermission, and at
4.45 p.m. on September 9th the attack was reopened
on the whole of the Fourth Army front. At four o'clock
a heavy enemy barrage was put down on the assembly
trenches of the 4th Londons in Leuze Wood, but the
battalion went forward at zero in six waves. In little
over an hour the battalion captured its objectives and
pushed out two advanced posts to positions overlooking
Morval-Lesbceufs road. The Rangers were not in touch
on the left flank, and a strong point was established ; and
during the night the advanced posts were connected up
and manned by Lewis guns.

Meanwhile A Company of the 2nd Londons had been
involved in the attack of the London Rifle Brigade
further east. At 6 p.m. this regiment called upon their
support company, but the barrage was so heavy that
A Company of the 2nd Londons went forward instead.
Taking up their position in the north-east corner of Leuze
Wood, they began at once to suffer casualties. They
were ordered to bomb up Combles Trench. Captain J. W.
Long and Second Lieutenant E. W. Lockey were killed
by snipers, and, all the officers becoming casualties, C.S.M.
Pellow took over the command. But the attack failed.
The strength of the company had been weakened too
much. The attempt of B Company to support on the
following day similarly failed with heavy loss. But the
two battalions had contributed to the very considerable
advance of their (56th) division.

Flers. — The ground had now been prepared for

ATTACK WTIH TANKS, SEPTEMBER 15TH 135

another general attack, and on September 15th " The
third phase — Exploitation of Success " * began. " Prac-
tically the whole of the forward crest of the main ridge on
a front of some 9,000 yards from Delville Wood to the road
above Mouquet Farm was now in our hands, and with it
the advantage of observation over the slopes beyond. . . .
The general plan of the combined Allied attack which was
opened on September 15th was to pivot on the high ground
south of the Ancre and north of the Albert-Bapaume road,
while the Fourth Army devoted its whole effort to the
rearmost of the enemy's original systems of defence
between Morval and Le Sars." f The Royal Fusiliers
were represented in this advance, the greatest that had
been made in any one day since the opening of the offen-
sive, by the 26th and 32nd Battalions, both of them in the
124th Brigade of the 41st Division, which was in the com-
mand of a Royal Fusilier, General Lawford ; and by the
2nd Londons. For thirty-six hours the positions to be
attacked had been prepared by a continuous bombard-
ment, which had, as usual, battered some places to dust,
but had left intact obstacles that might have wrecked
the plan. To deal with such eventualities, however, the
army now had a new instrument, the tank, which made its
first appearance in this battle.

For the 26th and 32nd Battalions it was their first
experience of battle. They had only been in France four
months, but both of them created an excellent precedent
in their first action. Each of them was in support, the
32nd on the right and the 26th on the left, following the
10th Queen's R.W.S. Regiment and the 21st K.R.R.C.
Three tanks were allotted to the brigade.

At 6.20 a.m. the leading waves moved off. The 32nd,
who had been assembled some fifty yards inside Delville
Wood, advanced with the utmost precision with the
14th Division on their right. The barrage was followed
very closely, and the battalion met with little resistance

* Despatch.
f Despatch.

136 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

in Tea Support Trench and Switch Trench, half-way to
Flers. They had been advancing in four waves originally,
but at this point the fourth wave was left behind to con-
solidate, and the other three waves became mixed up with
the survivors of the ioth Queen's and, on the flanks, with
men of the 14th Division and of the 26th Battalion, who had
lost direction. When Switch Trench had been won the
battalion was reduced to two parties, under Captain H. A.
Robinson and Lieutenant W. V. Aston respectively.
Robinson pushed on with his party, about 80 strong,
beyond Flers, capturing three field guns, five Bavarian
officers and about 40 other ranks. The field guns were
later destroyed by the Germans' concentrated artillery
fire. Aston's party, after being held up some time by
machine gun fire, advanced with a tank beyond Flers.
The battalion in this very successful advance lost 10
officers (wounded) and 283 other ranks killed, wounded
and missing.

The 26th Battalion advanced with the 32nd against
little resistance, but in the early part of the action the left
battalion passed through our own barrage. Captain
Etchells was at this moment senior officer on the left of
the brigade front, and he promptly and coolly reorganised
the line. With this readjustment the troops were able to
advance again.* Later in the morning there was a check
on the brigade front, but the same officer went forward to
a tank lying south of Flers and arranged that the 26th
would follow if the tank would lead. This arrangement
was carried out. The tank moved along the south side of
Flers, assisting the troops who were in the village by firing
on the retreating enemy and also assisting the 26th to get
well ahead. In the late afternoon the battalion were
north and east of the village. In the battle the 26th lost
9 officers (5 of them killed) and 255 other ranks killed,
wounded and missing. The losses of both battalions,
though very heavy considering the numbers involved,
were less than might have been expected, for the German

* Captain Etchells was awarded the M.C. for this service.

ACTION OF SEPTEMBER 15TH 137

artillery, though late in starting, was most skilfully
handled. The smallest parties moving in the battle zone
at once became a target. At times even a single stretcher
party was marked down. It was for the greatest courage
and devotion to duty under these conditions that the
medical officer of the 26th, Lieutenant J. Mclntyre,
R.A.M.C, was awarded the M.C. He was four times
buried by shell explosions, but each time recommenced
his work of attending to the wounded.

One of the singular points about this action is that the
tanks impressed our own men more than the enemy,
though at one point the Fusiliers were amused to see a
panic among the enemy, who caught a drift of a tank's
exhaust fumes. They imagined it a new form of gas, and
attempted to adjust their gas helmets before retiring.

The 32nd Battalion were relieved on the morning of
the 16th, but one company of the 26th remained at the
front till night, when they followed the rest of the battalion
and the 32nd to support positions.

* * * *

The 2nd Londons also attacked the same day. Their
objective was the Loop Trench, connecting the sunken
road with Combles Trench. C and D Companies attacked
and very quickly gained all their objectives, with the
exception of the junction of the sunken road and Loop
Trench. Captain A. G. L. Jepson, Lieutenant P. C.
Taylor and Second Lieutenant A. G. Sullivan were killed,
and two officers were wounded, in the heavy bombing
attacks against the captured positions. So great were the
losses that all available men of A and B Companies were
sent to the line to reinforce before three o'clock. Two
blocks had been established, one in the north end of Loop
Trench and the other in Combles Trench, and the battalion
bombers were sent up in small parties to assist in holding
them. But they also suffered heavy loss, and reinforce-
ments had to be sent by another regiment. The battalion
held their positions with this assistance, and they were
later congratulated by General Guignabaudit, who, com-

138 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

manding on the French left, had watched the attack from
Savernake Wood.

Thiepval. — On September 26th the nth Battalion
took part in what Sir Ivor Maxse afterwards described as
a " distinct and memorable " episode — the capture of
Thiepval. The whole of the 54th Brigade, of which the
battalion formed part, was allotted only 300 yards of
frontage, but in the area were located 144 deep German
dug-outs, in addition to those round the Chateau Redoubt
and the positions in the original front line along which the
Fusiliers had to advance. This line was the western
bastion of Thiepval, and for nearly three months the
village had been the focus of the stern resistance on the
left flank of the Somme operations. The effect of the
successful action on the 25th was thought to justify a
rapid following up.

At 12.35 p.m., D Company, under Captain R. H. V,
Thompson, advanced against the German positions. The
British barrage was most intense, and the Germans, taken
by surprise, were at first thrown into confusion. " We
met Bosches running about, scared out of their wits, like
a crowd of rabbits diving for their holes. Men were
rushing about unarmed, men were holding up their hands
and yelling for mercy, men were scuttling about every-
where, trying to get away from that born fighter, the
Cockney, but they had very little chance." * But this
applies only to the first moments of the assault. D Com-
pany was soon checked on the left, at the junction of
Brawn Trench with the original German line. At this
point, about 250 yards below the south-west corner of
Thiepval village, the company was held up, and with it
the left flank of the Middlesex ; but Thompson flung part
of his men against the trench and led the rest against the
strong point at the junction. He was hit in the head, but
kept on until hit again and killed at the moment that the
post was rushed. He was one of the best company
commanders the battalion ever had.

* Captain Cornaby's diary.

ELEVENTH BATTALION AT THIEPVAL 139

In the hand-to-hand fighting, Lieutenant R. A. Mall-
Smith was also killed, and Lieutenant G. A. Cornaby was
wounded. But the Fusiliers killed numbers of the enemy
and took 25 prisoners. They then continued their
advance along the German line, fighting their way yard
by yard. Some relief was obtained by posting the Lewis
guns so as to fire along the trench, but the gun team
suffered heavily. About 200 yards west of the chateau
another strong point was encountered, and there followed
a protracted encounter. The attack was assisted by the
timely appearance of a tank, which also checked the fire
from the chateau, and so helped the Middlesex. D Com-
pany got forward north-west of the chateau, where
Lance-Corporal Tovey (B Company) captured a machine
gun single-handed. Such was the position about 1 p.m.

A Company, under Major Hudson, turned to support
the Middlesex at the chateau, and, diverging to the right,
made a small gap in the line. Captain Johnson promptly
put in B Company, and attacking northwards, gave the
last touch requisite to carry the first objective. This
company had already lost two officers, all but three
N.C.O.'s and half the men. Major Hudson was wounded
in the shoulder west of the chateau, but continued fighting
until the final line was won. He was shot through the
thigh as he left the line and died a few days later.

Colonel Carr went forward about 1.15 with Captain
Cumberledge, the Adjutant, and after visiting the CO. of
the Middlesex, went towards D Company. He was
immediately wounded in three places, and as Cumberledge
and Hudson were also wounded, Captain Johnson was in
command until the evening, when Major Meyricke, the
second in command, took over. The fighting on the
Fusiliers' left was full of incident. Before the first objec-
tive had been won they had cleared twenty-five dug-outs.
Some of them contained large bodies of men provided with
bombs, grenades and machine guns. One very deep dug-
out was garrisoned like a fortress, and the men, armed w^th
two machine guns, refused to come out. The Fusiliers

140 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

had to set it on fire. Eleven Germans ran out and were
killed, and 14 wounded were taken prisoners. Many more
probably were burned to death.

C Company, in command of Lieutenant A. E. Sulman,
had gone over with the Middlesex to clear up. They had
a vivid time and were successful in locating the German
telephone headquarters. Sulman was given a German
map, and quickly realised its importance. The men were
set to look for the place. It was discovered by Lance-
Corporal F. Rudy * with four men, who captured it, taking
20 prisoners, cut the wires, and so severed communication
with the German artillery. Sulman left two platoons to
assist between the chateau and the right flank, with which
he went forward. His company enfiladed numbers of the
Germans who were retiring to the north in front of D Com-
pany. While the left were advancing well to the north
of the chateau, A Company, with two platoons of C,
pushed to the second objective and established a position
at the north-eastern end of the village. The Middlesex
were now on the right, a considerable deflection from the
original direction of advance.

This was the position at 3 p.m. ; but the reports
reaching headquarters were largely contradictory. Most
of them were sent by N.C.O.'s, as the officers were out of
action ; and, without maps, their references could not be
expected to be more than approximate. Sulman, with
his composite party, could not be located. By 4.30 p.m.
the position was cleared up. D, B, and part of A Com-
pany were still holding their position north of the chateau,
and north-west of the mass of the village. There was a
gap of 100 yards between this position and Sulman's
flanking platoons, which were disposed diagonally across
the village on a line facing north-west. Two other
platoons of C and part of A were on the second objective
beyond the north-east end of the village. The Fusiliers
had not a bomb left ; they were perilously short of
ammunition, and their numbers were dangerously weak.

* He was awarded the D.C.M. for this serviceable achievement.

CAPTURE OF THIEPVAL 141

The left was still under constant attack ; sometimes as
many as twenty German stick bombs were in the air at
the same moment.

Captain Johnson reported his position to Colonel
Maxwell (Middlesex) , who was in chief command, and a
company of Northants was sent to him to fill the gap
between his right and left, and to reduce the strong point
which held up the further advance of the left. The
attack proved a failure, and at 5.45 p.m. Captain Johnson
was ordered to dig in on his present line and connect his
right and left. The Fusiliers, Middlesex and Northants
were then collected and the position organised, a stranded
tank making the nucleus of a strong advanced post. On
the left fighting continued till n p.m., and the Fusiliers
suffered heavy casualties, until a barrage forced the
Germans to retire northwards. " Thiepval," wrote Lieut.-
General C. W. Jacobs, the Commander of the Second Corps,
' has withstood all attacks upon it for exactly two years."
All but the north-west corner of the village had been taken
in less than six hours. At 4 a.m. the Bedfords arrived,
and Captain Johnson and Lieutenant Sulman were ordered
to put them in attack formation in front of the line. This
was done, and at dawn they carried the north-west corner
of the village in a dashing attack. The Fusiliers then left
the line. They had suffered very heavily, but they had
achieved much. Captain Johnson and Lieutenant Sulman
were each awarded the M.C.

Private F. J. Edwards, of the Middlesex, was awarded
the V.C. for " one of those decisive actions which deter-
mine the success or failure of an operation. His part of
the line was held up by a machine gun. The officers had
all become casualties. There was confusion, and even a
suggestion of retirement. Private Edwards grasped the
situation at once. Alone, and on his own initiative, he
dashed towards the gun, which he bombed until he
succeeded in knocking it out. By this gallant act,
performed with great presence of mind, and with complete
disregard for his personal safety, this man made possible

142 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the continuance of the advance and solved a dangerous
situation." Private Edwards was transferred to the
Royal Fusiliers on April 13th, 1918, and was taken
prisoner eleven days later.

* * * *

The nth Battalion was in the line again on October
23rd, and the plan at that time was for it to attack Petit
Miraumont. " For this attack the assaulting battalions
of the brigade were to have been the Fusiliers and the
Bedfordshire Regiment. The weather was awful, and
the mud beyond words. Fortunately, the attack did not
come off. If it had, it must have been a colossal failure.
The first objective was, I believe, 1,700 yards away, and
in that mud, and after going that distance, the men
would have been dead-beat. The brigade was to go on
to the Ancre, cross the river, which was in flood and
about 300 yards wide, and hold the crossings for the
53rd Brigade to go through. It was seriously suggested
that trees might be felled across the Ancre, and the men
might cross on them." * The battalion went into the
line three or four times, but each time the attack was
postponed. It rained nearly every day. " The men
were soaked to the skin with liquid mud for days on end,
and after ration-carrying fatigues were dead-beat. It
was a long carry, and the mud was appalling. . . . The
sick rate in the battalions at this time was the worst I
have ever known. One morning each battalion in the
brigade had over 150 sick, and one had nearly 250." *

Bayonet Trench. — " These conditions multiplied the
difficulties of attack to such an extent that it was found
impossible to exploit the situation with the rapidity
necessary to enable us to reap the full benefits of the
advantages we had gained." f They also explain the
inconclusive character of much of the fighting between
the capture of Thiepval and the Battle of the Ancre. In
one of these attacks four Fusilier battalions fought side

* A Fusilier officer's account.
t Despatch.

ATTACK ON OCTOBER 7TH 143

by side. The Fourth Army operated along the whole
front from Les Bceufs to Destremont Farm in support
of the French advance on Sailly-Saillisel. The front upon
which the Royal Fusiliers were engaged stretched, roughly,
between the road running from High Wood to Le Barque
and the road running north from Gueudecourt, the 26th
and 9th Battalions being on the extreme left and right
respectively. Before them lay a network of trenches and
strong posts forming the outer defences of Ligny-Thilloy.

The 8th and 9th Battalions on this occasion suffered
very heavy losses, and did not reach their objectives.
When the attack began at 1.45 p.m. on October 7th
everything, from advanced headquarters, appeared to go
well. Within half an hour reports came back that this
was the case, but in an hour it was known that even the
first objective, Bayonet Trench, had not been reached.
The German positions were found to be held in great
strength, and it was later discovered that the attack had
coincided with a relief. The artillery and machine gun
fire were too heavy, and the front companies were mowed
down. The 9th alone had 15 officer casualties, and about
250 other ranks. They mustered, on relief, 144, with
B Company reduced to 12. The 8th had 9 officer
casualties and 244 other ranks. Each of these battalions
received from General Boyd Moss the following message :
" Will you please thank all ranks of your battalion for
the magnificent gallantry they displayed yesterday.
They advanced steadily under a heavy fire which only
the very best troops could have faced. Though unfortu-
nately unsuccessful, their gallant conduct has added to
the fine reputation which you have already won for
yourselves."

The 26th and 32nd Battalions, attacking at the same
time, fared no better. Despite all gallantry, no appre-
ciable headway was made. Each of the four battalions
was at this time much under strength, and went into
battle considerably less than two companies strong,
although organised as four. From first to last the 26th

144 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

only advanced about 300 yards ; but the position could
not be maintained, and their casualties were 14 officers
and 240 other ranks. Insufficient preparation and
support, reduced strength and the terrible state of the
ground, had proved too heavy a handicap for units who
had each performed excellent service before. Major
Coxhead (9th Battalion) noted the state of the roads was
so bad that the transport took three hours and a quarter
to traverse the five miles to Becordel.

The 20th Battalion had a tour in the trenches north
of Morval in the last week of October, and suffered 75
casualties, including five officers. They then moved into
trenches to the north of Les Bceufs, and on November 6th,
after three attempts, established a bombing post about
midway between that village and Le Transloy. In this
small action they had about 100 casualties. So the month
wore on to the 13th, when the Battle of the Ancre was
fought.

The Battle of the Ancre. — In this action, which in
duration was only comparable to one of the many battles
embraced under the general title of the Battle of the
Somme, eight battalions of the Royal Fusiliers were
involved, though one of them, the 4th, was in brigade
reserve, and remained in the same position in Sackville
Street, opposite Serre, all day, as the assaulting brigades
did not reach their objective. The front of attack had
a bad history, for it was here that several divisions
attacked in vain, and suffered heavy loss, on July 1st.
The situation on November 13th was very different.
The gains south of the Ancre had placed the troops in a
position to take the German positions north of the river
in enfilade. On the other hand, " the enemy's defences
in this area were already formidable when they resisted
our assault on July 1st, and the succeeding period of
four months had been spent in improving and adding to
them in the light of the experience he had gained in the
course of our attacks further south ; . . . the villages of
Beaucourt-sur-Ancre and Beaumont Hamel, like the rest

BATTLE OF THE ANCRE, NOVEMBER 13TH 145

of the villages forming part of the enemy's original front
in this district, were evidently intended by him to form
a permanent line of fortification. . . . Realising that his
position in them had become a dangerous one, the enemy
had multiplied the number of his guns covering this part
of the line. . . ." *

The Germans, indeed, were confident that they had
neutralised the disadvantages of the approach from the
south by their new precautions, and General Ludendorff
described the victory of the Ancre as " a particularly
heavy blow, for we considered such an event no longer
possible." f But it is obvious that the tip of the salient,
created by the Somme advance, was highly vulnerable,
and it was there that the greatest successes were won.
The preliminary bombardment had lasted two whole days,
with bursts of great intensity, and at 5.45 a.m. on Novem-
ber 13th it developed into a very effective barrage.

On the northern flank of the attack, as we have seen,
the 4th Battalion remained undisturbed the whole day,
so little had the attack succeeded on that sector. The
wire was insufficiently cut and the ground too sodden.
Four other Fusilier battalions belonged to the 2nd Division,
which lay north of Beaumont Hamel, between the 3rd and
51st Divisions. The 24th Battalion alone took part in
the initial advance. As the left battalion of the 5th
Brigade their flank was influenced by the failure further
north. At 5.15 a.m. the attacking companies left the
trenches in a dense fog, reformed in No Man's Land, and
moved forward with the general advance at 5.45 a.m.
The barrage was followed closely, the men being within
20 yards of it over the whole battalion front. Some
shells, indeed, fell short and caused casualties, but the
men followed coolly at a walking pace into the German
front line trenches, and a numerous dug-out popula-
tion emerged to surrender. The troops went on, and at
6.15 had taken the major part of their objective, the Green

* Despatch.

f " My War Memories," Vol. I p 290.

146 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

line — the German third line system. C and D Companies
were cleaning up the trenches. It was early realised that
the assault on the left flank had been unsuccessful, and all
trenches leading north were blocked. This advance, though
not spectacular, was useful in the general scheme of things ;
and it had not been achieved without considerable losses.
On the 14th the battalion's positions were taken over by
the supporting battalion, the 2nd Oxford and Bucks.

On the left of the 24th the 2nd Highland Infantry had
advanced, and the 17th Royal Fusiliers, as the supporting
battalion, had passed through, and with the 2nd Oxford
and Bucks had attempted to advance from the German
third line to Munich Trench and Frankfort Trench. At
10 a.m. the third German line was strongly held, and four
companies of the 17th Battalion, now reduced to a total
strength of 180, were well to the east. They had met with
a heavy enfilade fire owing to the units on the left of the
5th Brigade being held up. Some parties of the Fusiliers
with the Oxfords and Bucks had penetrated into Munich
Trench, but could not maintain themselves. After
10.30 a.m. the front line was reorganised with the battalion
holding Crater Lane Trench, a line that was apparently
further east than any other north of the Ancre held by our
troops.* Later in the day the line of Wagon Road was
also held. At 4.30 p.m. the Germans counter-attacked
the advanced positions and attempted to work across the
battalion's front towards Beaumont-Hamel, lying to the
south-west. Artillery support was called for and the
attack was not pressed. The 17th lost 187 in their advance,
including Lieutenant E. P. Hallowes, Second Lieutenants
K. W. Hamilton, G. C. Levon, C. W. Taylor, R. Davison,
R. Pearce and H. J. Riches wounded. Munich Trench,
reached but not held by the battalion, was attacked by
other troops f on the 14th and by another division on the
15th, but without success.

* There was, of course, a small party outside Beaucourt, still farther
east.

t The 1st Royal Rifles and the 1st Berks, with the 23rd Royal
Fusiliers in support.

BATTLE OF THE ANCRE, NOVEMBER 13TH 147

The 22nd and 23rd Battalions, belonging to the 99th
Brigade, who were in reserve, found themselves committed
to the support of the unsuccessful left flank of the Ancre
attack. The 22nd went up to form a defensive flank to
the 5th Brigade, but such were the difficulties that this
object was not achieved until 9 a.m. on November 14th.
But when the line was once taken up it was firmly held,
despite a persistent and very accurate shell fire throughout
the day. It was nervous and wasting work, but the
battalion bore it so well that, on the 15th, they were able
to leap forward and seize the Quadrilateral. They were
reinforced by the 4th Battalion, who crossed the open and
shell-swept ground with only 8 casualties. The position
was consolidated and held till 7 a.m. on the 16th, when
the battalion was relieved.

At 10 a.m. on the morning of the 13th A and C Com-
panies of the 23rd Battalion had been placed under the
orders of the G.O.C. 5th Brigade, and about 5 p.m. they
were sent to support the 2nd Highland Light Infantry in
the third German line. They were then in the rear of the
17th Battalion and on the right of the 24th. B and D
Companies had been lent to the 6th Brigade, and at 7 p.m.
they succeeded in canying the front forward to the second
German line. The whole battalion supported the unsuc-
cessful attack on Munich Trench by the 1st Royal Rifles
and 1st Berks, on the 14th. The 2nd Division's advance,
considerable on the right and gradually lessening on the
left, owed not a little to these four Fusilier battalions.

Another Fusilier battalion which took part in the battle
of the Ancre on November 13th was the 7th. This unit
formed part of the 190th Brigade of the 63rd (Naval)
Division, which was engaged immediately north of the
river. At 5.45 a.m. C and D Companies advanced with
the H.A.C. on their right. On their left was the redoubt
which, for the whole of the day, made a deep salient in the
British position. Both of the leading companies met with
heavy rifle and machine gun fire. The first two waves of
C were held up by the remains of the German wire, and

L 2

148 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

after losing heavily returned to the starting point. There,

in our front line, were the second two waves and about

60 men from other battalions. It was so foggy that no

one could see what was actually happening, and Captains

Foster and Clarke decided to make another advance with

all the men in the trench. The men came again under

heavy fire, and all the platoon commanders — Second

Lieutenant W. Ford, Second Lieutenant St. Aubyn,

Second Lieutenant Bouchier and Sergeant Cookson —

became casualties. Nevertheless, the German front line

was rushed in five minutes. In it were found 20 German

dead, and one officer and 50 men surrendered. A machine

gun was also captured. The trench line was consolidated

and blocked against the German strong point, and the

company remained there until ordered to proceed to the

Green line. Sergeant Bright with three Lewis guns and

13 men was left to hold up the German strong point. The

Green line was reached with little loss except from snipers

and was held till about 9 p.m., when, on relief by the H.A.C.,

they went back to the German front line. D Company,

in the meantime, had made three attempts to advance, the

last with the elements of several other battalions, and had

failed to make headway against the German rifle and

machine gun fire. At the end of the third attack the

company was reduced to 50, and Captain Rattigan decided

to hold on where he was in front of the German wire. They

remained in this position for four and a half hours-

During this time Captain Rattigan was killed, and Second

Lieutenant Downing, finding a mine shaft leading back,

went down it, reported to battalion headquarters and was

ordered to bring the remains of the company back to the

British front line.

Sergeant Bright held up the German strong point all
day. He was not a little assisted by the supply of German
bombs found in the trench, and by Private Hawkesley,
who daringly lay out along the parapet with a Lewis gun.
Captain Goddard, of B Company, took over this post at
3 p.m., and the captured trench was organised. The

BATTLE OF THE ANCRE, NOVEMBER 14TH 149

battalion was reorganised about 2 a.m. on November 14th,
and at 6 a.m. the Fusiliers attacked once more. It was
at this point that the 7th Battalion came into contact
with the 13th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, who attacked
between the 13th Rifle Brigade and the 13th King's Royal
Rifle Corps. The 13th moved off a little too eagerly and
suffered some casualties from our own barrage. They
withdrew 50 yards and then resumed the advance under
a harassing machine gun fire from Beaucourt village.
A strong point on the left flank resisted with great deter-
mination, and the 13th Rifle Brigade were to the rear of
the 13th Royal Fusiliers when the first objective was
taken. Meanwhile, Captain Goddard, with the 7th, had
amalgamated the battalion's two waves, and after one
and a half hours' shelling of the final objective, advanced
and took it without much opposition. He had turned
to the right and with elements of the 13th Battalion, the
13th K.R.R.C, and the H.A.C., consolidated the right
flank on the bank of the Ancre, south-east of Beaucourt,
which had fallen a little earlier to the charge of Freyberg's
force.

Up to this point the position on the left of the 13th
Battalion still caused trouble. Most of the casualties
suffered by the 7th in their advance to the final objective
had come from this quarter, and the 13th remained on
the first line captured. But the 10th Battalion, who, like
the 13th, belonged to the inth Brigade, had had the
pleasant experience of co-operating with a tank in the
reduction of the German redoubt which had held up the
centre of the 63rd Division. The mere appearance of the
tank seems to have been sufficient, and without firing a
shot the 10th Battalion took 270 German prisoners,* and
three machine guns. They also liberated 60 British
prisoners who had been well treated, but were naturally
glad to get back to their own army. The 7th Battalion
passed from this area and the 13th did not figure again in
the battle. The former had attacked 22 officers and

* Eight hundred prisoners in all were taken from this redoubt.

150 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

629 other ranks strong. They lost 13 officers and 331
other ranks, more than half the total strength. The
casualties of the 13th were 8 officers (including Lieut. -
Colonel Ardagh, wounded) and 130 other ranks. But the
victory was complete. It was a great blow to German
prestige, and it made an important improvement in the
British positions.

* * * *

There were still some local operations in this area before
the battle died down and a final line could be organised
for winter. The 10th Battalion took a prominent part
in these attempts to round off the gains of the first three
days. Part of the final line still remained in German
hands. The 13th Battalion, on the morning of the 14th,
had been held up by opposition on its left, and patrols
sent out failed even to locate the objective. Muck Trench,
as it was called, continued to lure the 111th Brigade, and
the 10th Battalion attacked at dawn on November 16th
with the object of capturing it. They were beaten back
by intense machine gun fire. In the afternoon two
bombing parties attempted to get forward and actually
reached the trench, but they were promptly attacked by
superior forces and compelled to retire. Lieutenant R.
Stephenson was killed on this occasion. The German
barrage prevented a third attempt, but Second Lieutenant
Ground succeeded in establishing two posts in the trench
on the left before dusk, and two others were established
during the night by Second Lieutenant Bainb ridge.
These posts were reinforced and organised. But during
the night of the 17th the machine gun team in the trench
was shelled and almost wiped out. At 6.10 a.m. on the
18th the battalion attacked on the right of the 32nd
Division and stormed all its objectives but one. Unfortu-
nately these gains had to be abandoned owing to the
failure of the right of the 32nd Division. On November
19th the 10th delivered yet another attack. Two patrols,
under Second Lieutenants Bainbridge and Hey wood,
respectively, reached the objective, but were compelled

END OF THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME 151

to withdraw. During the night the battalion was relieved
after an extraordinary exhibition of tenacity of purpose.
The most important and most spectacular achievement
of the Fusiliers in the battle of the Ancre was the capture
of the redoubt which had almost brought the advance to
a standstill. But it was the least difficult task, and the
10th, who accomplished it, did more distinguished service
in the following days, though their repeated attacks merely
served to secure a few points of tactical importance.

CHAPTER VIII

THE GERMAN RETREAT AND THE BATTLE OF ARRAS

The Battle of the Somme, which had formed a more
critical episode for the Germans than was at the time
appreciated, had obviously gravely weakened them, and
Sir Douglas Haig felt that it was desirable to allow them
no respite during the winter. There was consequently
little rest either in the Somme area or beyond it. The
mere routine of trench occupation at this period involved
much more than mere alertness. The movements and
disposition of troops were carefully watched by means
of repeated raids. One of these may be mentioned for a
singular coolness that marked its execution.

The 26th Battalion were in the line towards the north
of the Wytschaete Ridge. On December 15th, 1916,
Lieutenant C. R. W. Jenkins took a patrol to the German
front line trench in order to secure identifications. Leav-
ing a corporal on the parapet, he went into the trench
alone, and, meeting two German sentries, promptly shot
one ; but the other ran back and gave the alarm. Jenkins,
seeing how things were shaping, jumped out of the trench,
but, after waiting a few minutes, returned and took the
desired identifications from the body of the sentry he
had shot. For this act of coolness and courage he was
awarded the M.C. But the night was not yet over.
About 11.30 a party of Germans raided the battalion's
front line, and a number of men who were out attending
to the wire were caught in the barrage. The Germans
got into the front line, and there Private H. Jones, though
isolated, continued to handle his machine gun to such
effect that the raiding party were beaten off. He was
awarded the D.C.M., and Lieutenant M. B. Maude won

WINTER RAIDS 153

the M.C. for his persistent courage in helping to bring
back the men who had been caught in the German barrage.
The mud dragged his boots off, and his feet were badly
torn by the wire, but he continued to help until the work
was done.

There were many similar incidents on other parts of
the front. Just north of Loos a more elaborate raid was
carried out in broad daylight on January 26th by the 12th
Battalion, in conjunction with the 8th Buffs. Of the
Fusiliers 4 officers and 100 other ranks were engaged. The
German front and support lines were reached, machine
gun emplacements were destroyed, dug-outs were bombed,
many Germans were killed and 16 were taken prisoner.
The German barrage on No Man's Land and the Fusiliers'
front and communicating trenches was accurately placed-
All the officers were wounded. Lieutenant Murless died
on February 8th, and Second Lieutenant A. E. Hughes
was severely hurt. There were 24 other ranks casualties.
The British communique of February 1st included * the
12th Battalion among those who had specially distin-
guished themselves during January ; and they were also
warmly congratulated by the Army Commander.

Many, too, were the deaths which had no obvious
savour of heroism about them. Such was the death of
Captain R. L. Roscoe, M.C, who was mortally wounded
on February 3rd during his sleep in the company head-
quarter's post (Courcelette Sector). He was only nine-
teen years of age and one of the 22nd Battalion's most
efficient officers. Two days later the 22nd Battalion
carried out with the Berks a successful bombing raid.
The men wore white overalls, and guns and hats were
whitened. The ground was covered with snow, and the
raiders brought back 57 Germans at a very light cost.

A more important series of incidents from the point of
view of the German retreat was that which began with a
raid by A Company of the nth Battalion on the night
of February 10th. Second Lieutenants B. G. Sampson

* Only eighteen battalions were thus mentioned.

154 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

and B. P. Webster led the platoons in an attack on a
German strong point between Miraumont Road and
Sixteen Road. The position was captured, but the Ger-
mans concentrated a very heavy machine gun and gre-
nade fire on the garrison. Both officers and the N.C.O.'s
became casualties, and the Germans recovered the
position in a violent counter-attack. The few remaining
men were compelled to retire. The battalion was relieved,
but after a few days out of the line moved up once more
for the first concerted action of the year 1917. The
object of this attack was to carry our line forward along
the spur which runs northward from the main Morval-
Thiepval Ridge about Courcelette, and so gain possession
of the high ground on its northern extremity. This
would give us the command of the approaches to Pys
and Miraumont from the south, and observation over the
upper valley of the Ancre and its concealed batteries.
While immediately regarding Pys and Miraumont, the
operations were also designed to weaken the defences of
Serre, which these batteries supported.

Boom Ravine. — The three divisions engaged all con-
tained battalions of Royal Fusiliers ; but the 7th Batta-
lion, in the 63rd Division, was not called upon. On the
right of the 63rd Division, and south of the Ancre, lay the
18th Division, with the 2nd Division on its right. The
nth Battalion (18th Division) was the left assaulting
battalion of the 54th Brigade, and their role was to advance
from in front of Desire Trench to South Miraumont Trench,
crossing Grandcourt Trench and the deep sunken road
called Boom Ravine — a name which the Fusiliers and the
brigade always associate with the action. A thaw had
just set in. The night was dark and misty. In fine, all
the conditions were against the attack ; but the wire was
cut, and forming-up lines taped in the forming-up place,
the Gully, during the night. The assembling place was
very crowded at 4.45 a.m. on February 17th, and, unfor-
tunately, the Germans had discovered the plan in detail.
A heavy barrage was opened upon the Gully just before

BOOM RAVINE, FEBRUARY 17U1, 1917 155

zero and the Fusiliers suffered very heavily. It was rain-
ing, pitch dark, the Gully was slippery with mud and
packed with troops. Such an ordeal, gallantly over-
come, speaks volumes for the spirit and discipline of the
troops ; for the Fusiliers leapt forward at zero as though
no hour of horror had preceded it.

At zero only Captain Morton and Captain Colles Sandes,
of the officers of A and B Companies respectively re-
mained un wounded. At 5.45 came the barrage and the
men followed closely ; but little progress had been made
before these two officers joined the others, Captain Morton
with a serious foot wound and Captain Colles Sandes with
a wound in the neck. The two leading companies were
now without officers ; and the men continued their
advance over the shell-pitted slippery front in the dark-
ness and rain. Some delay occurred at Grandcourt
Trench, where the wire was not sufficiently cut, though it
was less uncut than in front of the battalion on the Fusi-
liers' right. The men pressed ahead and reached the 40-f eet
deep cleft called Boom Ravine. There was now not an officer
in the four companies who had not become a casualty.
The battalion was held together by the sergeants. C.S.M.
Fitterer (B), although wounded in the thigh, reorganised
the companies and directed the advance ; and Sergeants
Choate, Berry and Hazell, of A, C and D Companies
respectively, ably assisted him.

It was hardly light till 6.5 a.m., but by 6.30 Fitterer
had got the Fusiliers to resume their advance from the
Ravine, where they had taken over 100 prisoners. The
Middlesex were left in the Ravine to mop up. But already
there had been a serious delay and the barrage had got
too far ahead. As a consequence, the Germans were
ready in South Miraumont Trench ; and the weak force,
facing uncut wire in a heavily manned trench, could only
take refuge in the muddy shell-holes. At about 8.30 a.m.
a German counter-attack compelled the men to retire, and
it was while steadying the withdrawal that Lieut. -Colonel
R. J. F. Meyricke, who had only left the nth Battalion a

156 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

fortnight before to command the Northants, was killed.
For some time Second Lieutenant G. S. Pearcy, the
signalling officer of the battalion, rallied the Fusiliers
during this part of the battle until Lieut. -Colonel C. C.
Carr, D.S.O., and Captain Cumberledge, D.S.O., the
Adjutant, took control and the line was halted. The
remains of the assaulting battalions, with two companies
of the Middlesex, went forward once more in the after-
noon and recovered some of the lost ground. This battle
was one of the most tragic episodes in the battalion's his-
tory. Of the officers 2 were killed, 1 died of wounds, and
11 were wounded ; of other ranks 36 were killed, 162
wounded and 69 missing. But, on the whole, it was not
an exorbitant price to pay for an advance which carried
the troops so near the defences of Petit Miraumont.

The 22nd and 23rd Battalions (99th Brigade, 2nd Divi-
sion) were also engaged on the same day. The 22nd
assembled in battle position between East and West
Miraumount roads and began the assault with A and B
Companies, D forming a defensive flank from the old
British line to the final objective. In so doing, the com-
pany advanced along the east side of East Miraumont
road and came under a heavy fire from machine guns on
the right. For a moment it looked as though the attack
would fail utterly because of this check ; but Sergeant
Palmer cut his way through a stretch of wire under
a heavy and sustained machine-gun fire, and rushed the
trench running up to the north-east, on the company's
right. He established a block at a point where the trench
turned eastward and thus covered the right flank of his
battalion's advance. With a handful of men he held the
position for three hours, during which the Germans deli-
vered seven heavy attacks. When the supply of bombs
gave out he went back to headquarters for more, and
while he was away the post he had won and so skilfully
defended was driven in. He was badly shaken by a bomb
explosion ; but he collected a few men, drove back the
Germans and restored the essential flank-guard. He was

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THE GERMAN RETREAT, FEBRUARY, 1917 157

granted a well-deserved V.C. for this act of courage and
skill.

Meanwhile A and C Companies found the wire uncut in
front of them. One platoon west of West Miraumont
Road was surrounded and captured. But the troops had
reached the road south of South Miraumont Trench when
an outflanking movement from the right caused them to
fall back to the first objective, which was consolidated
with elements of the 1st King's Royal Rifles and the 23rd
Royal Fusiliers. This engagement was marked by
numerous acts of gallantry. The Lewis gun section, who
bore the brunt of the German counter-attack from South
Miraumont Trench and brought back eight of its fourteen
guns, though three-quarters of the team had been killed
or wounded, deserves mention ; and the fine work of D
Company had its influence on the action to the end. Well
posted in an advanced position, it prevented the Germans
debauching on East Miraumont Road. But the battalion
lost very heavily. At noon only three officers remained.
Major Walsh, who had joined the battalion in February,

1 91 5, and had had command of a company since March,

1916, was mortally wounded. A natural leader of men,
he was a great loss to the battalion. The 23rd Battalion,
who co-operated on the right and carried their objectives,
were also severely hit, losing 13 officers and 227 other
ranks. The battalion held their final position during the
following day until relieved.

Retreat. — It was only a week after these actions that
the enemy was found to be evacuating his positions. The
17th Battalion, in the Courcelette Sector, on making this
discovery, advanced their front line to new positions. The
7th Battalion patrols had found evidence of the enemy's
withdrawal north of the Ancre the day before, February
24th. Strong battle patrols were therefore pushed for-
ward in co-operation with the neighbouring units. After
a thorough reconnaissance the battalion advanced early
in the morning of the 25th in artillery formation. The
eastern edge of Miraumont was reached without opposi-

153 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

tion, and an outpost line was established and a further
reconnaissance was made by scouts. The advance was
later continued under a weak artillery fire. The battalion
had advanced nearly two miles when, on the night of
February 25th, they were relieved.

Three days later this process of testing the German
grip on various positions was extended southwards.
The 2nd Battalion, whose march discipline while making
a move had been recently pronounced by the G.O.C.
29th Division " fit for an inspection parade," delivered a
successful attack in the Combles area. The advance was
finally held up by a shortage of bombs, and the battalion
had to fall back under pressure of a heavy counter-attack.

By the end of February the enemy had been driven back
to the Transloy-Loupart line, with the exception of the
village of Irles, which formed a salient in their position.
The 2nd and 18th Divisions were ordered to attack the
village, in preparation for a larger operation against the
whole of the Switch Line. The 22nd Battalion assisted
in this engagement by supplying carrying parties, a
covering company and several Lewis guns. The 23rd
gave more active assistance, taking the feature known as
Lady's Leg Ravine. They killed 20 of the enemy,
captured 30 and also a machine gun. The casualties
were slight, hardly more than the number of prisoners
captured ; and this was the case over the whole of the
battle front. Not long after this the general withdrawal
took place, and the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg
Line.

Arras. — Part of Sir Douglas Haig's pre-arranged plan
was not disturbed by this retirement of the Germans.
As far south as the Arras- Cambrai road, the position was
completely unchanged, and it was north of Arras that the
Canadians and seven of the British divisions were to
deliver their blow. The weather broke in April ; it was
cold, and on the 2nd it began to snow. At the end of
that day the snow lay an inch deep in Arras. Numerous
troops had been moved up to this part of the line and

THE BATTLE OF ARRAS, APRIL qth 159

found easy accommodation in the cellars. They were
dark and damp, but stoves made them a little more
comfortable. Some of the cellars were very deep, and
these accommodated battalion headquarters. To some
of the Fusiliers this cellar life proved an amusing episode,
and it was not sufficiently prolonged to become irksome.
Zero was at 5.30 a.m. on Easter Monday. Wire-cutting
had begun nearly three weeks before, and on April 4th
the preliminary bombardment started. On the 8th, a
fine cold day, the shelling seemed to die down ; but in
the dark of the Monday morning it began with extra-
ordinary intensity, and the troops moved forward.
Strange but very welcome rumours were heard by those
Fusiliers left behind in Arras, and the troops of cavalry
trotting by seemed to give point to them.

On the Arras battle front there were a number of
Fusilier battalions waiting to take their part in the
struggle. Farthest north were the 8th and 9th Battalions
(12th Division), just above the Arras-Cambrai road.
Behind this division was the 37th with the 10th and 13th
Battalions. Below the Arras-Cambrai road lay the 3rd
Division with the 4th Royal Fusiliers ; and farther
south, before Neuville-Vitasse, was the 56th Division
with four battalions of the London Regiment R.F.
(Territorials) .

The 8th and 9th Battalions reached their objectives,
and with small loss took a considerable number of
prisoners. The 8th was the left support battalion of the
brigade, and the men moved off so rapidly after the
barrage that in many cases they became merged in the
assaulting battalion, the 7th Royal Sussex. The front
German line was reached without a single casualty.
The attack went exactly according to programme.* The
enemy put up a resistance at two strong points, but they

* Message from Brig. -General C. S. Owen : " Please convey my very
best congratulations to all ranks who took part in the attack to-day.
They did magnificent work. They went forward and carried out their
job as if they had been on the practice trenches. . . ."

160 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

were outflanked, and at 10 a.m. the whole objective was
taken with two machine guns and 129 prisoners. The
total casualty list was 175 killed, wounded and missing
(only 7 of these last). On the right, the 9th Battalion also
gained all objectives and captured two machine guns and
220 prisoners. C Company captured 150 of these in one
dug-out. But the dug-outs were unhealthy places. One
of them, in the nth Middlesex area, was suddenly blown
up by the explosion of a mine ; and as a consequence
German dug-outs were afterwards forbidden. These
positions, the " Blue Line," were at once consolidated.

The 4th Battalion, south of the Arras-Cambrai road,
moved off with the 9th Brigade after the 76th had taken
the first objective. Advancing at 7 a.m. the battalion
came under heavy shell fire as they moved across the
open ; but they kept on until they had covered about a
mile, the men keeping their ranks and formation in spite
of casualties. In their path lay the highly organised
defensive system below Tilloy called the Harp, and in
conjunction with other battalions the 4th Royal Fusiliers
swept across it. Such a position in the Battle of the
Somme frequently remained a stumbling block for days
and weeks. W Company, leading on the right, suffered
very heavily from rifle and machine gun fire, and also
partly from our own barrage. All the officers were
wounded, Captain Furnie severely, and the command
devolved on Second Lieutenant the Earl of Shannon, who,
though wounded, led the company from Nomeny Trench
and was the first man to enter String Trench. Before
this trench, with its wire only partially cut, many losses
were sustained. A portion of the company carried on
with the 9th Rifle Brigade to Neuilly Trench. Z Company
were caught by the fire from the north-east corner of
Tilloy village, but, with the help of two platoons of X,
assisted in the capture of Lynx and String Trenches.
Captain A. E. Millson (CO., X Company) was mortally
wounded as he entered the latter trench. X and Y
Companies supported the two assaulting companies

NEUVILLE-VITASSE, APRIL qth 161

mopped up Nomeny Trench and carried the battalion
forward to the final objective. The battalion gained
little support from the tanks, although one sat down upon
Nomeny Trench after they had carried it. Among the
captures of the day were 5 officers and 70 other ranks,
three machine guns, two minenwerfer and four granaten-
werfer. But the battalion lost 225 officers and men.
Besides Captain Millson, Second Lieutenant Paddock
died of wounds, and seven other officers were wounded,
Captain Furnie and Second Lieutenant K. C. Marlowe
severely.

The Territorial battalions had more obvious objectives,
and carried out their task well. The 3rd Londons lay
before Neuville-Vitasse, and with the 8th Middlesex early
got a hold on the village, and pushed on until at 10.30
the whole of it was in their hands. On this the 1st
Londons went ahead against the Cojeul Switch Line.
For a short time they were held up at a belt of uncut wire,
where they lost very heavily. Colonel Smith, with most
of his officers, became a casualty ; but, reinforced by the
7th Middlesex, the battalion held on until the line was
captured. The 2nd Londons entered the battle during
the night, and, by an advance to the trench junction at
Rum Jar Corner, and thence to the high ground sur-
mounted by Wancourt Tower, secured the flank.

Monchy le Preux. — Meanwhile the 37th Division had
moved up. The 13th Battalion reached Blangy at ir.30
a.m. without casualties, and at 1.10 p.m. orders came to
move forward and take up positions in Battery Valley,
along the line of Fred's Wood, which lies about 200 yards
north of the railway, and east of Blangy. At about 6.45
p.m. the battalion moved to the point from which they
were to begin the attack on Monchy le Preux, a village
standing on a small hill about 90 feet above the surround-
ing country. Up to the " Blue Line," which had been
taken and consolidated early in the day, there was no
shell fire ; but on crossing it the Fusiliers soon saw that
the next line had not been taken in their immediate front

F. M

162 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

and there was no alternative but to attack it preparatory
to the final advance. With the ioth Royal Fusiliers on
the right, the troops advanced steadily for about 2,000
yards and were at length brought to a halt just east of the
Feuchy-Feuchy Chapel road. Their left was in the air,
and the 13th Battalion had to form a defensive flank there.
In this position they dug in at nightfall. Shortly before
dawn they were withdrawn to near Broken Mill and
another brigade took over the positions. The ioth Batta-
lion had fallen back to Feuchy Chapel at 4 a.m., and then
later to the "Brown Line," farther back.

About noon on April ioth the Royal Fusiliers moved
forward once more. The 13th Battalion crossed the
northern end of Orange Hill and then swung half-left
towards the outlying woods west of Monchy. The ioth
Battalion on the right were in touch, and both units con-
tinued to advance under a heavy barrage until the ioth
were only 600 yards west of Monchy. The losses of both
battalions had been very heavy. At 7.40 p.m. only three
officers besides the CO. and the adjutant remained with
the 13th Battalion, and a provisional line of trenches had
to be dug west of the village, after consultation with the
Royal Engineers. This line was completed by about
4 a.m. on April nth. About an hour and a half later the
ioth and 13th Battalions made a last spurt forward and
the 13th established themselves north of the village, about
a hundred yards west of Hamers Lane ; and this position
they held throughout the day. The ioth Battalion, now
commanded by Major A. Smith, stormed the village itself
and occupied it under a heavy barrage. The west side
was entrenched and a small advanced post was established
on the east of the village. The cavalry entered the
village about n a.m. and were heavily shelled.

The Royal Fusiliers held these positions until relieved
at 11 p.m. that night. It was a memorable day. At one
time there was a blinding snowstorm ; but the troops
ignored such small inconveniences, and, though the Arras
front changed considerably in the subsequent operations,

CAPTURE OF MONCHY, APRIL iith 163

the positions at this point were little changed. In Decem-
ber the line was not 1,000 yards farther east than that
achieved on April nth by the Fusiliers. When Lieut.-
General Sir R. C. B. Haking, G.O.C. XI. Corps, inspected
the 10th Battalion on January 5th, he said it was the best-
turned-out unit he had seen for twelve months. Their
achievement at Monchy le Preux must place them in the
front rank for courage, tenacity and skill. Their losses
were twelve officers (including Lieut.-Colonel Rice,
wounded) and 240 other ranks. The 13th Battalion had
also suffered very heavily, and Colonel Layton's words, in
reporting the detail of the action, " I consider that the
battalion behaved magnificently, and I have nothing but
praise for every one in it," were well merited.

Other divisions were now appearing in this area bringing
with them Fusilier battalions. On April nth the 2nd
Division moved up to the left of the Canadians and the
24th Battalion entered the forward trenches in the Farbus
line. On the following day the 20th Battalion took over
the trenches won that day about 1,000 yards west of
Heninel. On the 13th it was discovered that the batta-
lion on the left of the 24th Royal Fusiliers had found the
railway line unoccupied and it was decided to advance at
once. Under heavy artillery fire the Fusiliers reached the
railway line and then a line from the eastern edge of
Willerval to Bailleul. This line covered the sugar factory
in the orchard of which a German naval 6-inch gun was
captured. This line was consolidated for the night. On
their left the 23rd Battalion, who on the nth had relieved
the 1/5 Gordons west of Bailleul, advanced with the 24th
to the railway, and, pushing farther on, occupied Bailleul.
A line was established on the east of the village and patrols
were sent forward towards Oppy. A platoon of C Com-
pany, misinterpreting orders, went out to attempt the
capture of Oppy, and was itself captured, after a spirited
fight before the village. The 23rd captured four guns in
this advance. But they lost heavily, for, in addition to

the platoon cut off at Oppy, Captain Lissmann, the

11 a

164 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

adjutant, was killed by a shell as he walked with the CO.
towards the railway. They were relieved on the following
day. But the 24th continued their advance at 3 p.m.
on April 14th, and, despite a heavy artillery and machine-
gun fire, succeeded in getting to within about 500 yards of
the Arleux en Gohelle-Oppy line. This was a formidable
sector of the German front, and the 24th had to lie facing
it with both flanks refused, since the units on neither side
had advanced.

Guemappe. — It was on April 13th, also, that the 4th
Battalion were sent forward against Guemappe. Monchy
lay in an uneasy salient, and its importance suggested that
the sooner it was finally secured the better, if there were
any expectations of further advance or even if the position
was to be held easily. The attack was launched hurriedly
and was unsuccessful. The order (cancelling a previous
order and) directing the attack to take place that evening
was only received at 5.55 p.m. and zero was to be at 6.20
p.m. The battalion were formed up about ten minutes
before the barrage lifted and they advanced very steadily
although they encountered three German barrages. When
they approached the spur lying about 750 yards north-
west of Guemappe they came under a very sustained rifle
and machine-gun fire from both flanks, but particularly
from the direction of Wancourt. They continued to
advance and crossed the spur. But by this time most of
the officers who had gone into action had been wounded.
Captain Gibson, in charge of the right leading company,
was severely wounded ; Second Lieutenant the Earl of
Shannon, commanding the right support company, was
killed ; Second Lieutenant B. C. Martin was killed ;
Second Lieutenant C. A. Brasher and Captain K. J.
Barrett were both wounded. Still the battalion advanced
and the sunken road was reached. They had pushed for-
ward nearly 3,000 yards, an apparently irresistible
advance in defiance of all the enemy could do.

But now Captain Barrett, who had continued in com-
mand though wounded, was again severely wounded, and

ADVANCE TO THE SOUCHEZ, APRIL 14TH 165

was carried out of action. Before leaving, however, he
gave instructions in writing. It was now 8 p.m.
Lieutenant Hiddingh and Second Lieutenants Thoday and
Burr were the only officers left. The King's Liverpools,
who had started off fifteen minutes before the 4th Royal
Fusiliers, had not been seen since. The 12th West Yorks
whom it was intended to support were not seen at all.
The Royal Fusiliers had passed through some of the
1st Northumberland Fusiliers during the advance, and
this unit's right was found to be on the cross-roads north-
west of Guemappe, and practically in line with the 4th
Battalion, halted on the sunken road facing the village
about 500 yards away. This advance, launched almost
at a moment's notice, without any time for preliminary
reconnaissance, was a very wonderful performance. Success
could have added but little to it. The battalion were
ordered to withdraw at 1 a.m. on April 14th ; and the
movement was carried out steadily and skilfully. Of the
12 officers who went into action, five became casualties,
and there were 86 other ranks casualties.

It was on the same day, April 13th, that the 12th Bat-
talion made a striking advance near the extreme left flank
of the Arras battle. About 9-30 a.m., the Germans were
observed to be shelling their own third line. Maj or Neynoc
and Lieut. -Colonel Mobbs (7th Northants) thereupon went
forward to the 3rd line positions north-east of Souchez.
The trenches were found to be almost smashed out of
recognition by our fire, and unoccupied. At midnight
Nos. 3 and 4 Companies, in close support under Neynoc,
relieved the units in the front line, and at 8 a.m. on the
14th patrols were pushed ahead. On a report that all
was clear, No. 3 Company proceeded through Calvary
Trench and No. 4 Company, under cover in the Bois de
Rollencourt, advanced and occupied the sunken road up
to the mill in the outskirts of Lieven. At 2 p.m. the
companies went through Lieven and occupied the line of
the Souchez River. The latter part of this advance was
over open country, under the observation of low-flying

166 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

aeroplanes which directed a heavy fire. At night the left
of the battalion were in contact with the 17th Brigade at
the north corner of the Bois de Riamont and their right
with the 5th Division at the bridge on the Souchez river
in Cite de l'Abattoir. This flank was slightly drawn
back. Two fighting patrols under Second Lieutenants
A. H. Lee and Deakin were pushed forward on the 15th
into the Cite- de Riamont, but they were later ordered to
withdraw, as it was not intended seriously to engage the
enemy in this quarter. But this very decisive and
skilful exploitation of a chance discovery won warm praise
from the divisional commander, who told the commanding
officer that he had a battalion he might be proud of.

Oppy. — On April 16th another attempt was made to
test the strength of the Oppy line. A daylight raid was
ordered to be made by the 17th Battalion, and Lieutenant
Brodie and three men moved out at 3 p.m. It was not
the sort of adventure which encourages the soldier. The
small party were sniped from Arleux and never had a
chance of doing more than swell a casualty list. Brodie
was wounded and taken prisoner. Corporal Town was
killed. Another man was wounded and made prisoner.
Only one returned to report that the wire was thick and
unbroken. The battalion were ordered on the following
day to find three companies to enter the Oppy switch line
and bomb it clear with the help of the 2nd Oxford and
Bucks. Fortunately the division prevented this project
being carried out. Four separate brigades attempted to
take this line later on, and all failed. The defence had,
in fact, made a recovery, as the 20th Battalion also dis-
covered when they attacked south-east of Heninel on the
same day. This small operation attained no success.
Second Battle of the Scarpe. — On April 23rd, the
second Battle of the Scarpe began. The 7th Battalion's
share in this battle was an attack north of Gavrelle
which assisted the other units of the division to capture
the village. Even in the preparatory stage of the battle
the battalion fared badly. A new line, about 200 yards

ATTACK NORTH OF GAVRELLE, APRIL 23RD 167

from the German positions was dug ; but it was no sooner
ready than a sustained bombardment beat the trenches to
pieces, and a new line had to be constructed during the
night. The battalion proceeded to take up positions for
attack at 8-30 p.m. on the night of the 22nd, and at
4.45 a.m., zero, the infantry began the advance. The men
followed the barrage closely ; but on reaching the front
line found that the wire was only cut in one place, forming
a narrow south-easterly lane. The men were thus con-
gested and lost direction ; and they encountered bombing
parties and a very heavy machine-gun fire. Many
casualties were sustained from this cause until a party
was organised to attack and capture them. The guns were
rushed and twenty-three prisoners were captured. The
Fusiliers then pressed on to the support line, and established
a post against the Germans' bombers, who were shep-
herded back up the trench. The battalion had now
got forward to the railway where it was hoped to dig a
trench under cover of darkness. Posts were established
about 25 yards from the railway and were maintained in
spite of the activity of the low-flying German planes which
signalled the Fusiliers' position. At 8 p.m. the line was
linked up with that of the 6th Brigade on the left, and at
daybreak the battalion had been relieved after a successful
engagement. The number going into action was, 18
officers ; other ranks, 358. Four officers, Captain Gast,
Captain Granville, Lieutenant Wood and Lieutenant
Randall were killed, eight others were wounded. The
battalion had been practically wiped out.

The 10th Battalion also attacked at 4.45 a.m. on the
same day and took the German second line without much
difficulty, but further advance was held up by machine-
gun fire and snipers until the 13th Battalion came up on
the left flank. The advance was then resumed ; but the
10th Battalion lost touch with the right and left units
later on. At 9.30 a.m. the 10th, now consising of 3
officers and 50 other ranks, had occupied Cuba Trench,
and the 13th Battalion came up again about half an hour

168 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

later. But the 63rd Brigade on the right were not found
again until 9.55 p.m. The 10th Battalion had advanced
up to the road running due south of Gavrelle and estab-
lished a line not far from the north-western slopes of
Greenland Hill.

On the same day the 29th Division had gained ground
east of Monchy. But the attack as a whole had been
brought to a standstill short of the success which had been
expected, and orders were given for the resumption on
the 24th. The 2nd Royal Fusiliers advanced on a three-
company front from Shrapnel Trench at 4 p.m., zero.
Some 60 yards from the starting point, the battalion were
turned towards the right in order to avoid some British,
troops in front of them. At about 600 yards west of the
Bois du Vert, the right (Z) Company were held up by
machine-gun fire, and the left Company (X) turned half
right to take the wood in flank. But at this point the
company were very weak, and contact could not be
achieved with the troops on either flank. There was one
officer left, and he had 30 men with him. At 6.50 p.m.
the position became untenable and they withdrew ; but
W Company went round the north side of the wood, took
up the position X had occupied, and beat off the enemy
attacks, while Z Company on the right at length succeeded
in overcoming the German resistance. The positions
were consolidated and many German dead bodies were
found on the ground with much equipment, packs, rifles,
etc. If the 2nd Battalion had paid heavily for their
success, the Germans found their resistance even more
expensive.

The 20th Battalion on the same day took over the
advanced positions in front of Fontaine les Croisilles,
from which the Germans had just retired. An outpost
line consisting of ten strong points was organised and

patrols were pushed out up to the Sensee.

* * * *

On April 28th began that series of attacks which aimed
principally, if not wholly, at assisting the French. The

OPPY WOOD, APRIL 29TH 169

13th Battalion attacked from the trenches about 300
yards east of the Gavrelle-Roeux road. Their objective
was the Whip cross-roads, south-east of Gavrelle. The
attack began at 4.25 a.m. About four hours later No. 3
Company were sent up to the right of the 13th Rifle
Brigade, who had secured their objective ; but the
company could not get into contact with any troops on
the right, and a German machine gun was in action at
the cross-roads. At 10.15 a.m., however, the position
had been cleared up and the two companies, Nos. 3 and 4,
held the road, including the cross-roads, for some 250
yards. The success was complete though the Fusiliers
had been constantly harassed by fire from snipers and
machine guns. The positions were retained intact until
the battalion were relieved on the night of the 29th.
While the Fusiliers were on their objective a body of the
63rd Brigade swept across their front leading towards
Square Wood from the south-west. They had lost
direction, but they succeeded in carrying a body of
Fusiliers with them until they were recalled. The 10th
Battalion, in support of the 13th on their right flank,
had made persistent attempts to get into touch with this
brigade, but without success.

Oppy. — The attack was continued on April 29th, and
four battalions of the Royal Fusiliers made another
attempt to conquer the Oppy defences. The Canadians
took Arleux on the left and the 24th Battalion formed
the left of the attack on Oppy Wood. They went forward
at 4 a.m., and A and B Companies reached their objective,
the sunken road between Arleux and Oppy, capturing 64
prisoners, only to find that the right battalions had not
reached their positions in the wood. Their right flank
was therefore in the air. A furious bombing attack took
place on the left flank, and such were the losses that it
was decided to swing the right flank back to Oppy Trench,
west of the sunken road and gradually retire along it.
This was successfully accomplished. C and D Companies
were sent that night to relieve the 2nd Highland Light

170 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Infantry, immediately north of Oppy Wood, who had
suffered very terribly from the fire from Oppy Wood.
The 17th Battalion, who had been supporting the 24th
during the day with B Company, finding their right in
the air, formed a defensive flank. The line along this
front was, in fact, pitted with gaps. Farther south the
22nd Battalion advanced in perfect order, but were held
up against dense wire, and when this was partly cut came
under heavy machine-gun fire.

On the right B Company found the wire still unpene-
trable and Second Lieutenant J. Steele had a whole
platoon shot down. At this juncture Second Lieutenant
S. F. Jeffcoat, a newly-joined officer, found a gap, and with
a handful of men jumped into the trench and throughout
the morning was engaged bombing up it to the right.
At every traverse the Germans resisted, but Jeffcoat,
assisted by a few men of the 63rd Division, cleared a
considerable length of the trench by sheer personal
courage and leadership. He was mortally wounded, and
was recommended for the V.C. C.S.M. Roger also ably
assisted. The whole objective of the battalion was taken
chiefly owing to Jeffcoat's fine work, and the 23rd
Battalion reinforced on the final line.

The 7th Battalion on the right had gallantly fought to

the sunken road just north of the railway. Repeated

bombing attacks on the left flank were beaten off, and a

strong post was established near the ruined cottage,

south of Oppy and 300 yards north of the railway. At

one time the Bedfords, whom the 7th Battalion were

supporting, were in touch with men of the 22nd Battalion.

But for the most part the battalions engaged this day

fought small engagements under peril of envelopment

from both flanks ; and in the final result the general

position was little changed. Three days later a company

100 strong of the 22nd attacked north of Oppy as part of a

composite battalion, but with little success.
* * ♦ *

On May 3rd another attack was launched for the same

THE BATTLE OF MAY 3RD 171

purpose as that of April 28th, but on this occasion the battle
front totalled sixteen miles. The 8th and 9th Battalions
were engaged just south of the Scarpe and fought a very
amazing battle. Together they totalled no more than 900
men and their role was to cross about 1,000 yards, and
their objective was almost 9,000 yards long. The 9th
Battalion on the right started off from a trench which was
partly in German hands, with a block dividing them from
the Fusiliers. Zero was at 3.45 a.m. Scabbard Trench,
the first objective, was reached by both battalions, and
the line held for the moment lay just south of Roeux,
south of the Scarpe. But a bombing attack along the
river pushed both battalions out of the position, and at
noon the British artillery put a 12 minutes' barrage on
Scabbard Trench. A small party of the 9th had gone
ahead and were now cut off, in advance of this line.
Surprisingly enough they rejoined the battalion in the
evening. They had been taken prisoner, but, caught by
our own machine-gun fire on the road to Douai, they had
escaped as the Germans ran away. Major Coxhead,* the
acting CO., was killed in this battle. He had gone out
into the open, as the trench was packed and he wished to
reorganise. When he left the trench the first waves were
well ahead ; behind them a desperate fight was going on
for the possession of Scabbard Trench, and in the starting-
off trench the Germans were counter-attacking from the
block. Few positions have been as involved as this ;
and it was due to Coxhead's courage and decision that
something solid emerged at the end of the day. The 8th
Battalion had gone through a similar train of vicissitudes.
The machine-gun fire from Roeux caused numerous
casualties and there was the same bold advance, a sudden
and temporary crumpling in the intermediate positions,
and active fighting on the jumping-off position. They
took 1 officer and 44 other ranks prisoners. At night
they formed one company, and the 8th and 9th were

* Major Coxhead's diary, dispassionate, critical and detailed, has
been almost invaluable for the period it covers.

172 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

joined under the command of Lieut. -Colonel N. B. Elliot-
Cooper. The 8th alone had lost 282 officers and men.
The unit on the left had failed to carry Roeux and there
was no support on the right.

It was the strange vicissitudes of this engagement that
provided Corporal G. Jarratt, of the 8th Battalion, with
the opportunity for a splendid act of heroism. He had
been taken prisoner with some wounded men, and was
placed under guard in a dug-out. In the evening the
troops drove back the enemy and the leading infantry-
men proceeded to bomb the dug-outs. A grenade fell
into the dug-out in which were Jarratt and his com-
panions ; and, without a moment's hesitation, he placed
both feet on it. He had instantly seen that the lives of
all were at stake and he risked his own to save those of his
companions. In the subsequent explosion both his legs
were blown off. The wounded were later safely removed
to our line, but, before this, Jarratt was dead. " By this
supreme act of self-sacrifice the lives of the wounded were
saved." He was subsequently awarded the Victoria
Cross.

Farther south, the 4th Battalion had attacked from a
line about 1,000 yards east of Monchy, and had reached
positions 100 yards east of the Bois des Aubepines. The
men followed the barrage closely ; but the 1st German
line had apparently been missed, and heavy loss was expe-
rienced there. A hostile counter-attack from the east and
north-east was beaten off ; but a second counter-attack
got round the flanks of the 13th King's Liverpools and
4th Royal Fusiliers. The two leading waves, with all the
officers casualties, were cut off ; but the remainder of the
battalion held their ground till nightfall, when, with only
one officer left, they retired to the original position. It
had been impossible to maintain communication with the
front line. Runners were almost invariably shot down ;
and one who got through took five hours to make the
journey. The battalion on this day had 299 casualties,
including 11 officers. About 1 a.m., on May 4th, Second

THE TERRITORIALS ON MAY 3RD 173

Lieutenant E. M. Buck returned from beyond the German
front line system. He had lost all his men and had him-
self been blown up. On the night of the 9th, six days
later, there also returned three men who had been east of
Infantry Hill since the morning of May 3rd.

The nth Battalion were engaged opposite Cherisy in
mopping up, moving dumps and supporting the assaulting
battalions of the 54th Brigade. B Company, under Cap-
tain Neate, were to mop up the village. The Middlesex
with B Company got into and cleared Cherisy ; but the
small band who had accomplished this serviceable achieve-
ment were practically wiped out in a counter-attack from
the right. No officers of either regiment returned. Neate,
a young, spirited, and very efficient officer, was last seen
with his revolver in his hand at the head of his men. C
Company made an unsuccessful attempt to take Fontaine
Trench which had not been captured by the assaulting
companies, and merely sustained heavy loss.

Another gallant but abortive action was fought by the
2nd Londons who, with the 56th Division, lay on the left of
the 3rd Division. The battalion went forward gallantly
in the darkness, and took Cavalry Farm on the Arras-
Cambrai road and the German position 100 yards to the
east of it. The left battalion had not advanced in step
and the 2nd Londons' left flank wavered a little before it
got into its stride, when, after the farm buildings had been
taken, it formed a defensive flank. These positions were
held, despite heavy losses for nearly twenty-four hours,
when, both flanks being exposed, they had to be aban-
doned. A sergeant on this occasion distinguished him-
self by an admirable piece of bluff. In his endeavour to
find the left flank battalion he crossed the Cambrai road
and walked into a German dug-out where he was taken
prisoner. Before dawn on May 4th he had persuaded the
seventeen Germans to surrender. By this time the batta-
lion had retired ; but the sergeant safely brought his little
flock across to the British line. On the north of the 2nd
Londons, the 1st Londons had fought a very costly

i74 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

engagement to as little purpose as most of the units

attacking that day ; but on May 14th Cavalry Farm was

recaptured by them with practically no loss.

It was in May that the 3/4 Londons and the 3/3

Londons took over from the Australians a sector of the

line on the right of Bullecourt. On the 14th of the month,

after a bombardment of nineteen hours, they were attacked

by the 3rd Prussian Guard. The two battalions fought

magnificently and crushed the attack with rifle and

machine-gun fire before it reached the trenches. Both of

them suffered heavy loss ; but the line was maintained

intact, and Lieut. -Colonel Beresford, who directed the

3/3 with great courage and skill, was awarded the

D.S.O.

* • * *

This long-drawn-out narrative may be terminated here.
The battle had been initiated for distinct and valuable
objectives ; but it was continued from loyalty to the
French. It was in the latter period that the smallest
gains and the greatest losses were recorded. But the
struggle called on the gallantry and skill of the Fusilier
battalions, who gave of both very remarkably.

CHAPTER IX

THE BATTLE OF MESSINES

The Arras offensive gradually died down after May 3rd,
though there were actions on the Hindenburg line and
about the Souchez River and Avion until almost the end
of June. But it was on May 4th or 5th * that it was
agreed " to give immediate effect to the British plan of a
Northern Offensive." To this plan the Battle of Messines
formed a preliminary operation, and, after elaborate pre-
paration, it was launched on June 7th, 1917.

The objective was the Messines- Wytschaete ridge,
which formed a most important observation post in the
British positions, and the chord across it running slightly
east of the hamlet of Oosttaverne. In the plan of battle
the first German defensive system and the second, follow-
ing the crest of the ridge, were to be carried in a first
assault ; and the Oosttaverne line was to be captured by
a second distinct movement. Four battalions of Royal
Fusiliers took part in the battle, two of them being
engaged in the opening attack. The 41st Division lay
near St. Eloi, toward the north-west face of the salient,
and the 26th and 32nd Royal Fusiliers, who belonged to
it, went forward with great dash and secured their
objectives.

At 3.10 a.m., zero hour, there was a terrific explosion
caused by the mines which had been driven under the
German position, and at the same time the enemy lines
were deluged by a bombardment that seemed the heaviest
of the war. Then, in bright moonlight, the 26th Batta-
lion advanced promptly and steadily, under the direction
of Lieutenant R. C. Brockworth, M.C., suffering very few

* Sir Douglas Kaig's Despatches, p. ioo, Note.

176 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

casualties. They were the first troops on the Damm-
strasse, Lieutenant Brockworth sending back the report
of its occupation. So swiftly and successfully had the
advance gone that Brockworth was awarded a bar to his
M.C. Some 203 casualties were sustained before the day
ended ; but up to this point there had been little appear-
ance of resistance and very little loss.

The 32nd advanced in support of the 26th Battalion.
They went forward in four waves, keeping admirable
order, and reached the first objective without opposi-
tion. There, a pause was made for reorganisation ;
and the battalion passed through the 26th at Damm-
strasse, and moved towards their final objective. It is
amazing that the units kept to their orders so well, for
the whole of the ground was beaten out of recognition
and the objectives were originally definite trenches. Near
the final position most of the Germans fled. About thirty
were taken prisoner, the majority of them very eager to
give themselves up ; but a few were bombed out of dug-
outs. But at the Black Line, from Goudezoune Farm to
a point on Obstacle Switch 250 yards to the north, there
was no opposition. The battalion dug themselves in
about 100 yards beyond Obstacle Trench and established
advanced posts with seven Lewis guns. The engagement
was admirably carried out largely owing to the efficiency
of the signalling under Second Lieutenant Home Galle and
Sergeant Scoble. After passing the first objective, the
Red Line, the companies were kept in constant touch with
headquarters by visual signalling. The battalion went
into action 17 officers and 551 other ranks strong and came
out with 11 officers and 384 ranks. For an attack with
important objectives which were secured in schedule time,
the losses were not excessive.

At 8.10 a.m. the work of these two battalions was over,
except for the consolidation and organisation of the
positions. It was 3.10 before the second phase of the
battle began with the advance upon the Oosttaverne
Line. The 1st Royal Fusiliers attacked in this part of

THE BATTLE OF MESSINES, JUNE 7TH 177

the battle, forming the right assaulting battalion of the
17th Brigade. The 12th Battalion were left in dug-outs
on the north and west edges of the Etang de Dickebusch
in support ; but as this position lay nearly three miles
from Dammstrasse they were not engaged during the
battle. At 11.15 a.m., the Fusiliers learned that all the
objectives of the 41st and 19th Divisions had been taken ;
and an hour later they were ordered to move to the old
front trench at 11.30 a.m. The battalion moved forward
five minutes afterwards in artillery formation. It had
become a swelteringly hot day, and the advance in such
conditions was not over-enjoyable. At 2.10 p.m. Damm-
strasse was reached and the battalion moved through the
26th preparatory to the attack.

The 1st Battalion had about a mile to go to their final
objective. At 3.10 p.m. the advance began and the men
moved very close to the barrage. Although the Germans
had had a certain amount of time to recover there was
still little organised opposition. The wire had been well
cut, the strong points were battered, and the Germans were
demoralised. But the swiftness and completeness of the
Fusiliers' success was due to their splendid dash. Second
Lieutenant Field, with a handful of D Company, rushed
a strong point which was holding out and captured 25-
prisoners and two machine guns. B Company crossed
Odyssey Trench and, despite a strong opposition, with the
help of a platoon of A Company under Second Lieutenant
Douglas Crompton rushed the strong point which formed
part of the final objective. Crompton was unfortunately
killed, as also was Second Lieutenant Shoesmith, who had
also shown great gallantry in attack. At one point when
B and D Companies had drawn apart and there was
danger that the Germans might profit by the gap between
them, Second Lieutenant Mander ran forward with his
platoon and filled the gap. Sergeant Haldane's unselfish-
ness in attending to the wounded of his two sections is also
worthy of record. The sections being all casualties, he
carried the wounded back, and bandaged them before

F. n

178 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

reporting himself, when he fainted from loss of blood
and exhaustion. The Rev. Studdert Kennedy also did
excellent work for the wounded.

The final position was gained early, and at 4.30 p.m.
the companies reported all objectives attained and that
they were in touch with the battalions on the flanks.
The line extended from the point where the Roozebeek
cut Odyssey Trench to within a few yards of the road
running north-east of Oosttaverne. At this point the
position lay some 500 yards north-east of the hamlet. The
1st Battalion in this battle took 130 men of the 150th
Prussian Regiment prisoners, with a machine and two
field guns, for a loss of 5 officers and no other ranks.

When the 1st Battalion were consolidating the
advanced positions, the 12th moved up to the old front
line and before midnight went forward to the Dammstrasse
near Hiele Farm. From this position they took rations
and supplies to the 1st Battalion and the 3rd Rifle Brigade
in the front line. At 9.30 p.m. on June 9th they moved
forward to relieve the front line about the Roozebeek
stream. The battalion headquarters were established in
Oosttaverne Wood, near the Wambeke road ; and it was
close to this place that the battalion suffered a very search-
ing blow. They were destined to take part in rounding
off the battle and yet at one stroke they lost four of their
chief officers. A shell fell close to headquarters, catching
Lieut-Colonel Compton, Captain Gordon, Captain J. V.
Wilson and Captain Whittingham (R.A.M.C), and
wounding them. Captains Gordon and Whittingham
died at midnight. Lieut.-Colonel Compton lingered till
July 7th, when he too succumbed. At 10 p.m., Captain
Ventres assumed command of the battalion, pending the
arrival of Major Neynoc, who reached headquarters about
3.30 a.m. At 9.35 that night (June 10th) the battalion
was relieved, and suffered 52 casualties in the barrage
during relief. It was an unfortunate tour.

Major Hope Johnstone of the 1st Battalion took over
command on the nth ; and at 11 p.m. on the 12th, the

ATTACK ON BATTLE WOOD, JUNE 14TH 179

1 2th Royal Fusiliers relieved the Durham Light Infantry
in Impartial Trench preparatory to attack. Their role
was to round off the battle by the capture of the dug-outs
north of the railway, at Battle Wood, in conjunction with
the 8th Buffs. The battalion attacked at 7.30 p.m.,
June 14th, on a two-company front, and a very stiff
right ensued. The bombardment had left the dug-outs *
undamaged ; they were well garrisoned and a very strong
resistance was offered. The right leading company,
No. 4, came under intense machine-gun fire from the flank
on reaching the line of dug-outs on the railway embank-
ment. The first dug-out contained 1 officer and 20 men
and a machine gun, and the platoon ordered to deal with
it had a fierce hand-to-hand battle and had to kill prac-
tically the whole garrison. Another dug-out had a
garrison of 40 and the men came out and fought it out in
the open. The platoon ended the resistance by a fierce
bayonet charge in which 20 Germans were killed and 20
taken prisoner. These encounters had so weakened the
company that reinforcements had to be sent for. Two
platoons of No. 2 — the reserve — Company were sent up,
and had to go through a heavy barrage ; but with careful
leading they came through without too heavy a loss.

Meanwhile No. 1 — the left leading — Company had met
with little opposition, except at a post in the ravine in
Impartial Trench. This ravine was the objective of the
right platoon of the company, but the platoon commander
saw that another ravine which ran along the road 100
yards farther south offered a better site for a strong post,
and accordingly this was made good under heavy machine-
gun fire. The battalion had orders to establish five strong
posts, but the conditions made this task extremely
difficult. The pill-boxes were very hard to cope with,
and one of them kept up a consistent machine-gun fire

* This was the first experience of the real formidableness of the " pill-
boxes," as these concrete dug-outs came to be called. They had
survived the attacks of another division and had won a certain unfor-
tunate notoriety already.

N 2

180 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

during the process of consolidation. The work, however,
was pushed through in full view of the enemy, and before
darkness fell the posts were consolidated and an organised
defensive established. When it is remembered that the
attack was only launched at 7.30 p.m., it will be
appreciated that the battalion had added a considerable
achievement to their record. The organisation was not
only remarkably good ; it was even remarkably successful
in weathering the stresses and strains of battle. Tapes
were laid from the forward posts to battalion head-
quarters and to the dressing station. These tapes were
of great assistance to the stretcher bearers. Second
Lieutenants W. S. Nathan and H. A. Bayly were killed,
Second Lieutenant Bescoby was mortally wounded and
died four days later, four other officers were wounded,
and there were 92 other ranks casualties. Considering
the nature of the fighting, and that all objectives were
gained, and 28 prisoners and a machine gun captured,
these casualties cannot be considered excessive.

Appreciative messages followed speedily. The com-
mander of the division congratulated the battalion on
their success. The Second Army Commander sent a
message congratulating " all concerned in the success of
last night's operations which have succeeded in sub-
stantially advancing our whole line. The operations
reflect much credit on all concerned."

In action the 12th appeared to have a fair share of luck.
Out of it, they seemed to suffer every sort of mishap.
The loss of four officers by a chance shell has already been
recorded. A little later in the month they were in Hill 60
area. Back areas came in for a heavy bombardment,
preventing rations being brought up. Four yards from
battalion headquarters — the coincidence is remarkable —
a shell blocked up the gallery. Lieutenant Martin was
partly buried by the explosion and gassed. Captain
Skene (R.A.M.C.) and Captain Simkins were also gassed,
and Major Hope Johnstone, Major Neyoc and Second
Lieutenant Fonteyn suffered slightly, but were able to

THE BATTLE OF MESSINES 181

remain at duty. Three days later when they relieved the

ist Battalion, a shell caused 19 casualties in a working
party.

The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the Ypres

battles of 1917. The Fusiliers had a distinct hand in the

launching stage, and also a very vivid and vital part in
rounding it off.

CHAPTER X

THE THIRD BATTLE OF YPRES

The Flanders offensive was very elaborately staged and
was launched with high hopes. The Battle of Messines
was a prelude, which was very successfully performed,
but another part of the plan was anticipated by the
Germans. If the offensive achieved sufficient success
before the end of the season it was intended to attack
along the coast from the Yser positions.

The Yser. — But on July ioth the Germans made a sur-
prise assault on these positions and part of the bridge-
head was lost. At that moment the third battle of Ypres
had not begun, and the coastal and Yser defences were
still maintained for some time. In this part of the scheme
the 20th Battalion took part, and the novelty, if not the
importance of their role deserves some record. On the
opening day of the Ypres battle (July 31st) the battalion
detrained at Dunkirk and embarked on barges, in which
they slept that night. In the early morning of August ioth
they were moved up the canal to Bray dunes. On the
following day they took over the Bray dunes defences.
Posts between the frontier and Bray Plage were to be
manned in case of attack by the sea. It was not a very
strenuous life, and the battalion were able to put in a
fortnight's training. On the 15th they moved to Kuhn
Camp, near Oost Dunkerque, and on the following day
marched via Welpem and Nieuport to take over trenches
in the Lombartzyde sector. C Company occupied Nose
Trench below the Lombartzyde position and received a
welcome from gas shells on arrival. Little beyond the
ordinary routine marked this tour of the trenches, and
they were in support when B Company had to go up to

BATTLE OF YPRES, JULY 31ST, 1917 183

the line suddenly on the night of August 25th to support

the Camerons who had been compelled to evacuate the

Geleide Brook position. B Company took over and

organised Nasal Trench, and held two posts on the Geleide

Brook. It was their last active part in the work of this

sector, for they were relieved on August 27th, and on the

last day of the month went into training near St. Omer.

Though they had been involved in little beyond the

ordinary trench activity they had lost, in the month, 63,

including 12 killed.

* * * *

By this time the third battle of Ypres had been
launched and had shown those features that, in the end,
robbed it of the strategic significance expected when it
was planned. On July 31st two Royal Fusilier battalions
took an active part in the opening attack. They were
engaged on a sector that from the beginning meant hard
fighting and little success. The 26th Royal Fusiliers
attacked at Battle Wood, but little progress was made.
An hour before zero, which was at 3.50 a.m., a heavy rain
began to fall and the ground was a mass of water-logged
shell-holes. The men could hardly keep their foothold,
and it is surprising that the battalion lost no more than
160 killed, wounded and missing.

On the right of the 41st Division, of which the 26th
Battalion formed part, was the 24th Division, containing
the 1st and 12th Battalions. The 1st attacked at zero
with the 12th Battalion 200 yards in the rear. The
leading companies as usual clung closely to the barrage.
A number of casualties were sustained as the men crossed
the valley in which lies the sunken road towards the eastern
end of Shrewsbury Wood, but the Germans did not
attempt to stand until the strong point south of Jeffrey
Avenue was reached. This trench runs from the north-
eastern face of Clonmel Copse to the northern edge of
Shrewsbury Wood. At this point the battalion were
held up until Lieutenant Flack's party rushed it. Flack
knocked out the machine gun with a rifle grenade, and

184 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

was subsequently awarded a bar to the M.C. for this
service. This part of the line was then consolidated.
C Company, under Captain Leeming, reached the trench
on the south-western face of Bodmin Copse, and here he
was killed. The German snipers were very active, and
C Company was deprived of an efficient leader. This
company on the left of the advance alone maintained its
direction. A very sustained fire had been kept up from
Lower Star Post, in the heart of Shrewsbury Wood, and
it was owing to this, apparently, that the battalion on
the ist Royal Fusiliers' right swerved, causing the Fusiliers'
right company also to swerve.

At 4.15 a.m. the 12th Battalion passed through the ist
in Jeffrey Avenue. They had been held up while the ist
were reducing numerous strong points, and had suffered
heavy loss. Captain H. J. Cox, Captain H. D. Doudney,
Lieutenant A. J. Waby and Second Lieutenant W. F.
Cooper were killed, and Second Lieutenant E. Cohen was
mortally wounded. Captain F. C. Day was also wounded.
These casualties could not but gravely weaken the
battalion. Five minutes before the 12th passed through
the ist, Second Lieutenant H. Martin with the signallers
advanced, but he was killed on the way up. The advance
from Jeffrey Avenue had made but little way before it
was held up at a strong point on the western edge of
Bodmin Copse. No. 3 Company rushed this position,
and the 12th pushed through the copse to its eastern edge,
but were there held by machine-gun and rifle fire. The
advance had to be abandoned and a line was established
enclosing the greater part of Bodmin Copse. A strong
point was established in the trench about 100 yards to
the north-east of the north-eastern corner of the copse,
and there Lieutenant N. P. Mussbaum was wounded.

That night a final line was established some 500 yards
west of Bassevillebeek and held by the ist Battalion, the
12th, with the 3rd Rifle Brigade and the Leinsters. On
this day, the ist Battalion sustained 277 casualties, 12
being officers, 3 of whom were killed. The 12th Battalion

CASUALTIES ON JULY 31ST 185

lost 9 officers and 170 other ranks, killed and wounded.
One officer was killed at the jumping-off place and one,
the CO., had almost exactly the same fate as the officer
he succeeded. Battalion headquarters were moved up as
the advance made progress, and Lieut. -Colonel Hope
Johnstone was mortally wounded as he approached the
new position. Captain A. Simpkins took the command of
the battalion. Headquarters were moved again because
of the heavy shelling ; and even in its third position it
fell under a severe bombardment. Messages failed to
reach headquarters, the runners being knocked out on the
way. As the command of the battalion was so gravely
weakened, they were relieved at 11 p.m. Three-quarters
of an hour before it had begun to rain again, and the
ground seemed unnecessarily irritating to the weary men
who had to make their way back over it.

Fighting was still in progress on the line south of Shrews-
bury Wood, and the conditions at the front were very
terrible. Many wounded were still lying about in shell-
holes as the stretcher bearers had suffered so many casual-
ties. Seven officers and 69 other ranks were sent up to
the 1st Battalion from the transport lines on August 2nd,
and on the next day they moved back with the 12th

Battalion to Micmac Camp.

* * * *

The 32nd, who had moved up to the front near Klein
Zillebeke, had a strange experience on August 5th. The
Germans had delivered counter-attacks on various parts
of the front, and on that day the blow fell to the left of the
battalion front. At 4.10 a.m. the enemy barrage lifted
and the Germans advanced under cover of fog and smoke
bombs. Only half the front was involved ; and there the
attack was held up by rifle and machine-gun fire. But the
Germans broke through the right flank of the battalion
further north and a party of them got to the rear of the
32nd Royal Fusiliers. At midday it was ascertained that
the enemy were holding 100 yards of Jehovah Trench,
which was sited in a strip of wood lying north of Klein

186 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Zillebeke road and some 500 yards east of the village.
This situation was cleared up by the bold and decisive
action of Major Robinson, Captain H. L. Kirby and Second
Lieutenant G. W. Murrell, and when the battalion moved
back on relief, the next day, the position was restored.
Major Robinson led a few men against the German detach-
ment who had got behind the centre post in the forward
zone and succeeded in killing part of them and dispersing

the rest.

* * * *

On August 10th the nth Battalion took part in one of
those minor operations which are the aftermath of all
great battles ; and it was their fate to fight over much the
same ground as that on which the 4th Battalion had
clashed with the Grenadier Guard Regiment in the first
Battle of Ypres. The Fusiliers, the right assaulting batta-
lion of the 54th Brigade, had their right flank near the
Ypres-Menin road ; and at 4.35 a.m. B Company (Captain
Fuller) on the left, D (Captain Gray) on the right, attacked
from this position. They advanced steadily against little
opposition until the machine-gun fire from Inverness
Copse — in the neighbouring brigade area — brought up
the right flank and made it swerve to the left. On the
left, however, the men penetrated some distance into Glen-
corse Wood, despite the ten or twelve " pill-boxes " stand-
ing like sentinels on the edge, some 200 yards from the
south-west corner of the wood. Some of D Company also
got well forward and, with Captain Gray, reached Fitz-
clarence Farm. Gray was there shot through both knees,
but continued to fire from a shell-hole. Fuller was shot
through the head in a gallant attempt to rush a machine-
gun emplacement.

As a natural consequence, a gap was made between the
nth Battalion and the brigade on their right. In less
than two hours all the officers of the assaulting companies
were casualties, and a counter-attack was initiated by the
Germans. The Fusiliers were out of touch with the troops
on both flanks ; and a skilful bombing attack down the

SECOND ATTACK AT YPRES, AUGUST i6th 187

Jargon and Jap Trenches rendered their position impossible
to maintain. Issuing from Inverness Copse the Germans
almost penetrated to the rear of (C) the support company.
Despite the cool and courageous handling of the men by
the N.C.O.'s, Sergeants Wilson, Berry and Burch, and
Corporal Hallett, the Fusiliers could only remain where
they were at the imminent peril of envelopment. They
were compelled to retire and establish themselves some
200 yards east of Clapham Junction, in touch with the
55th Brigade on the right. Some of the men were cut off,
and one of them gave a good account of himself. Private
Arthur Jakes remained calmly in an advanced shell-hole,
sniping all the day, and at night found his way through
the German lines back to his battalion. The nth re-
mained in their position until 4 a.m. on August nth
when they were relieved. They went back to Dickebusch
huts weaker by 17 officers and 328 other ranks than when
they entered battle.

Battle of Langemarck. — On August 16th the " second
attack " was launched, and the Royal Fusiliers were repre-
sented in it by the battalions of the London Regiment.
But practically no progress was made. The " pill-boxes,"
which had proved so formidable an obstacle to the Royal
Fusiliers on August 10th, and even at the end of the
Messines battle, now began to attract official attention.
Nothing short of a direct hit put them out of action,
and standing inconspicuously but a few feet above the
ground it was almost impossible to hit them except by
chance. It was the " pill-boxes " that proved too much
for the London Regiment. The 2nd Londons attacked
on the left of the London Rifle Brigade, eastwards and
slightly north from the western face of Glencorse Wood.
The men fought very gallantly and reached all objec-
tives, but the flanking battalions had found it difficult
to maintain themselves when the objective was reached.
The machine-gun fire was very heavy, and Nonne Boschen
and Polygon Wood provided ample cover. In spite of
this one officer reached the racecourse in Polygon Wood

188 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

with his platoon, where, fighting desperately, he was sur-
rounded and forced to surrender, when quite defenceless
from lack of ammunition. Before doing so, however, he
was able to send a message by pigeon : " Ammunition and
bombs exhausted. Completely surrounded. Regret no
course but to surrender." Colonel Kellett and almost all
the officers became casualties ; and at length the battalion
with their neighbour had to go back to the starting point.
With one officer, Captain Stevens, the adjutant, and about
50 other ranks, they were withdrawn.

The 4th Londons, attacking between Glencorse Wood
and Inverness Copse, had an even worse fate. They came
up against the " pill-box " system which had neutralised
the success of August 10th, and the objectives were never
taken. The battalion lost heavily in the unequal struggle.
And the 3rd Londons also failed to capture their objec-
tives. In each case where the troops achieved success
they found themselves gravely weakened when the speedy
and heavy counter-attack was launched. The bad
weather made aeroplane reconnaissance practically impos-
sible ; and hence there was no warning of the counter-
attacks and no artillery support against them. The new
tactics led to a modification of the artillery tactics and the
readjustment of the command, so that the Menin road
area could be placed as a separate feature under one com-
mander. The sector was entrusted to Sir Herbert
Plumer.

On August 16th another Fusilier Battalion, the 2nd,
were ready to attack north of the Ypres-Thorout railway,
if called upon, being attached to the 88th Brigade for the
purpose. But the 29th Division's attack was so successful
that the battalion were not called upon, and reverted
naturally to the orders of the 86th Brigade. It was on
this night that a shell falling outside headquarters severely
wounded Second Lieutenant Hewlett and killed C.S.M.
Rolfe — a great loss, for Rolfe had always carried himself
in action with conspicuous gallantry.

An amusing incident occurred in this sector of the line

PATROL ACTION, AUGUST 22ND 189

two days later. Two men of the 2nd Battalion were
carrying water to the advanced trenches when they lost
their way. They were unarmed, and they ought to have
felt duly depressed when they ran into an armed German
patrol of three men. However, arguing that the best
defence is a resolute offensive they at once attacked and
captured the enemy, a striking and amusing illustration
of the difference between German and British morale.

On August 22nd, a patrol of the 1st Battalion, who were
then in the line near Bodmin Copse, carried out a minor
operation which was thought sufficiently good to merit
the study of all the battalions in the II. Corps. The
G.O.C. sent round a report which may be printed here :
" Following account of a minor operation is forwarded
for information as an example of the success which attends
good leadership and initiative when coupled with the
correct use of fire to cover movement. Efficient recon-
naissance prior to the operation ensured that the fire of
the light trench mortars was both effective and accurate,
and this conduced largely to the success of the
operation.

" At zero two trench mortars opened fire on the enemy's
strong point, quickening the rate of fire at zero plus five
minutes. At zero plus seven minutes the trench mortars
lengthened range and the infantry advanced.

" The assaulting troops — about a platoon * — advanced
in two waves, and were stubbornly opposed by the enemy
with rifle fire and bombs. Second Lieutenant Stonebanks
at once ordered his flanks to swing round and come in on
the flanks of the strong point, the centre meanwhile
keeping up a heavy fire on the enemy's position and dis-
tracting his attention.

" The enemy, finding himself surrounded, surrendered.

" The assaulting party pushed on to a second strong
point which was found unoccupied. This was at once
consolidated and a German machine gun, which was

* One officer and 20 men actually, who accounted for double their
number, fighting in prepared positions.

igo ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

captured with a large quantity of ammunition, was
brought into action against the enemy.

" Five of the enemy were killed and 35 taken prisoner,
of whom five were wounded.

" Our casualties were four other ranks wounded, two
of whom are at duty."

It only remains to add that Second Lieutenant Stone-
banks was himself wounded, but the brilliant little
operation deserved the praise it received. Stonebanks

received the M.C.

* * * *

After the attack on August 16th the wet weather and
the arrangement of new tactics to suit the new elastic
defence of the Germans imposed a long interval in the
operations ; and, although minor assaults were delivered
here and there, no further concerted movement took place
in this area until September 20th. There was minor
activity on other parts of the line. Several heavy raids,
for instance, were carried out by the 4th Battalion in
the Lagnicourt sector. On August 8th, on taking over
trenches there, the battalion had discovered a German
telephone wire leading from the wire in front of one of
their posts towards the German line. Major Winnington
Barnes put an end to any usefulness it might have by
cutting it about 60 yards from the German wire. On
the 17th they began an exchange of compliments with
the enemy by delivering a gas attack, which was acknow-
ledged by a bombardment of 3,000 shells. Strong raiding
patrols carried out operations on the 23rd, 29th and 30th.

Menin Road Ridge. — In the Ypres area the second
line battalions of the London Regiment were engaged on
September 20th. These battalions were originally third
line battalions, but the second line battalions had been
amalgamated with the first in May, 1916, and the third,
thereupon, became the second. The 2/3 Londons were
in the 173rd Brigade and operated on the right of the
division north of St. Julien ; and all the battalions had
uniform success on this occasion, taking their objectives

ATTACK OF SEPTEMBER 20TH 191

with distinct skill. It was to some extent a justifica-
tion of the new tactics ; but it was also an endorsement
of the training and morale of these battalions in their first
major operation. Schuber Farm was gallantly rushed by
the 2/4 Londons, with the help of the 8th Liverpool Irish
and two tanks.

Below the Ypres-Menin road the 26th and 32nd
Battalions were engaged, their object being the Tower
Hamlets spur. The 26th were on the left and the 32nd
on the right of the brigade front, both battalions being
in support, with their front on the road running north
from the west of Lower Star Post. The approach was
characteristic of the time and place. The 26th had to
step off the duckboard track to allow the 32nd to get in
front. This meant stepping into the mud which clung
to several of the men so tightly that they found very
great difficulty in getting out again. At zero both
battalions moved forward so close to the barrage that the
German barrage fell behind them. The 26th ran into
heavy machine-gun fire almost at once ; but for the first
200 yards the 32nd found no opposition until the fire from
the left checked them. Lying out in shell-holes the
Germans inflicted heavy casualties on the right of the 26th
and the left of the 32nd.

At this point the majority of the officers of the 32nd
had become casualties. The front assaulting battalion
had been almost wiped out. But A Company, under
Second Lieutenant Christie, and B under the C.S.M.,
pushed right and left, respectively, and the advance was
enabled to resume progress. Through the check, the
advantage of the barrage had been lost, but the enemy
now put up little opposition. Small parties of Germans
began to come forward with white flags, and the Fusiliers
thus encouraged, made another spurt forward. By
9.0 a.m. the two first objectives had been captured.
The 32nd had now lost more than half its strength, and
no further progress could be made against the fierce and
sustainedjnachine-gun fire.

192 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The 26th had fared no better. Lieut. -Colonel G.
McNichol, D.S.O., was killed early in the battle, and
Major A. Maxwell, who took over the command, was
awarded the D.S.O. for his gallantry and skilful leadership.
All the officers but one were either killed or wounded.
Indeed, in less than ten minutes there was only one
unwounded officer of the 19 who had gone forward. But
Lieutenant S. H. Firth and Second Lieutenant F. A. B.
Jones * finding they were the only officers in the front
line, held on with a small body of men. No communica-
tion could be obtained with headquarters until a staff
officer arrived with some pigeons. A message was at
once sent off by pigeon, and at four o'clock in the after-
noon the 20th Durham Light Infantry came up. The
enemy had now got the range of the position, and so
effective was their fire that the five Fusilier officers, who
were sent up just before dark were all casualties within
two hours, four being killed and one wounded.

At one time the line was broken on the left, and the
men in the support line on the right were turned about,
righting with their backs to the front line. Their unex-
pected volley checked the German advance and the left
flank recovered. On the morning of the 22nd no food and
little ammunition remained from what had been brought
up on the night of the 19th, and Private Sturgis volunteered
to go back for supplies. Three times on his way back he
was blown up, and when at length he found battalion
headquarters he fainted. But as soon as he recovered
he started off with a party carrying food and ammunition.
The enemy barrage caught them about half way, and the
party were inclined to run back. But Sturgis threatened
to shoot them if they did not go forward ; and at length
they came to the front line. When the battalion was
withdrawn in the early morning of the 24th, they had
suffered 363 casualties, including 23 officers. This was

* Second Lieutenant Jones was wounded in the chest early in the
fight. A little later a shell exploded near him and burst the drums of
both ears. But it was not until two days later that he reported wounded

FOURTH BATTALION AT BREMEN REDOUBT 193

the heaviest casualty list the battalion had ever incurred
in a single operation. The Menin road area continued to
be true to its reputation.

Battle of Polygon Wood. — On September 26th the
4th Battalion began a series of operations which add a
touch of relief to the bitter and unsuccessful fighting on
the Menin road area. So fine was their discipline, and so
skilfully were they handled that all orders were carried
out with precision that was only too rare in this terrible
battle. The battalion stood to in the Zonnebeke area at
zero, 5.50 a.m., while the 3rd Division attacked. At
3 p.m. the battalion received a verbal warning that they
might have to reinforce the line as the attack on Hill 40,
just north of the Ypres-Roulers railway, and near Zonne-
beke, had been unsuccessful, and in this case they would
come under the orders of the 8th Brigade. Major Win-
nington Barnes was at this time in command, as Colonel
Hely Hutchinson had been attached to the 4th Division
as liason officer the day before.

At 5.30 p.m. this order was confirmed in writing and
the battalion were ordered to occupy the old British front
line in Bremen Redoubt. This movement carried out in
daylight under full observation was the source of many
casualties. Low-flying German aeroplanes bombed them
as they were forming up, and signalled the position to the
enemy artillery. As a consequence a heavy barrage was
put down, but despite severe losses the battalion were in
no way disorganised and moved forward in great style.
On taking up position at the Bremen Redoubt the Fusiliers
again suffered heavily. The barrage was now on the
redoubt, and it was with the utmost difficulty that the
men could be got to their positions. In front of them this
determined German resistance had produced some dis-
organisation in the attacking force, and it was decided to
move the battalion forward to a ridge some 300 yards in
front of the Bremen Redoubt. This position was taken
up and all stragglers in the neighbourhood were rallied.
The shell fire continued to be severe, and the losses heavy.

194 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The ground was very bad, and it was difficult to collect
the men in the midst of the heavy bombardments when
the battalion were ordered to move forward at i a.m. on
the 27th. Their new position was between 200 and 300
yards west of the road running north-west from Zonnebeke,
with the right flank about 400 yards north of the railway.
In the morning the battalion had two companies in front
and two in rear, with the 13th King's on the right and the
59th Division on the left.

At 2 p.m. the battalion were ordered to move forward
and occupy a line some 200 to 250 yards west of the road
from Zonnebeke station to Jacob's House and to connect
up with the East Yorks and K.S.L.I., still keeping touch
with the 13th King's on the right. In spite of the heavy
machine-gun and rifle fire from Hill 40, which caused
many casualties, the movement was carried out in good
order. The two battalions on the left, holding a line of
shell-holes to Jacob's House were relieved by the Royal
Fusiliers on the night of September 28th ; and the bat-
talion dug and consolidated two lines of trenches along
the whole of their front to the left of the 13th King's. On
September 30th they were relieved, after a tour of four
days, during which time they had carried out every duty
allotted to them with perfect discipline and efficiency.
Their casualty list totalled 205, but they had found a
crumbling position and they left one established and
organised.

It was on September 30th that the 13th Battalion were
called upon to deal with a local counter-attack. They
were lying at the time astride the Menin road, with an
advanced blockhouse near the western edge of Gheluvelt
Wood. At 5.30 a.m. a heavy bombardment by trench
mortars was opened by the Germans on the whole position,
and the support lines as far back as Bassevillebeek valley
came under a heavy barrage. Ten minutes later the
advanced post, which was held at the time by Second
Lieutenant Shorman and 10 other ranks of No. 2 Company,
was attacked by about 300 Germans, armed with jlamm en-

13TH BATTALION AT MENIN ROAD 195

werfer. After a short and fierce struggle the post was
captured, all the garrison being killed or wounded. An
immediate counter-attack was organised by Captain T.
Whitehead, commanding No. 2 Company, and very swiftly
the blockhouse was cleared of all the enemy. Second
Lieutenant Shorman, who was badly burned and was last
seen fighting, was missing. Second Lieutenant H. C.
Bevan, who had been on patrol at the moment of the
attack, was found beside the post badly wounded ; and
the total casualties were 26 in an operation which occupied
a very short space of time, but was carried out with bitter
hand-to-hand fighting. The morning mists had prevented
the rifle grenade rocket from being seen, and there was
consequently no artillery support, though the whole
battalion on the right had a barrage put down on their
front. Captain Whitehead was awarded the M.C. for his
skilful and energetic leadership, and C.S.M. J. Edwards
and Private W. Digby, both of No. 2 Company, received
the D.C.M. The battalion also received the congratula-
tions of the Brigadier,* the Divisional f and the Corps
commanders.

Battle of Broodseinde. — Five similar attacks were
delivered by the Germans on October 1st. Yet another
was launched on the morning of the 3rd, and that night
there was a heavy gale with much rain. But the advance
was resumed once more. The 13th Battalion took part
in the attack with the 10th supporting. Since repelling
the German attack on September 30th, they had lost
heavily from the enemy bombardment. No. 2 Company
in Bodmin Copse suffered very seriously on October 2nd,
when No. 1 Company was practically wiped out, and
No. 3 Company's carrying parties lost heavily. The
remainder of No. 2 Company was divided between Nos. 1
and 3 ; and when the battalion attacked its total strength
was 13 officers and 233 other ranks. The role of the

* " You have worthily upheld the traditions of your regiment."
t " For very gallant defence and prompt and successful counter-
attack."

196 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

battalion on October 4th was to seize the dug-outs strung
across the northern part of Gheluvelt Wood and form a
defensive flank to the 5th Division who were engaged
north of the Menin road. The battalion were in position
at 5.15 a.m., and a quarter of an hour later a heavy German
barrage was put down. Fortunately for the battalion it
fell chiefly north of the Menin road. Zero was at 6 a.m.,
and at that moment the battalion advanced, following
the barrage so closely that though the German artillery
were very prompt in their counter-barrage the assaulting
troops suffered very little. But they encountered a heavy
rifle and machine-gun fire from a blockhouse and also
from Lewis House which had escaped the bombardment.

The 13th King's Royal Rifle Corps, who were to have
raided Lewis House, were therefore unable to effect much
there, and this unreduced centre, lying to the right front
of the Royal Fusiliers, was chiefly responsible for their
failure to carry the objective. Their original line faced
roughly east. To capture the line of blockhouses in
Gheluvelt Wood they had to wheel so as to take up a final
position facing towards the south. This operation brought
them more and more under the fire from Lewis House, and
Second Lieutenant A. A. Allen's leading platoon were at
one point reduced to two. Later on he collected 14 men,
but the flanking fire from Lewis House and the blockhouses
compelled him to dig in. No. 3 Company suffered heavily
from the short firing of our own field guns, but established
their line with less difficulty. It was not until night that
touch was gained with the Royal West Kents on the left.
At first their right flank had been in the rear of the
Fusiliers' left, but towards the end of the day the advance
was continued, and finally their right forward post was
some 100 yards in front of the Royal Fusiliers. Though
the 13th Battalion had not secured their final objective,
they had covered the flank of the 5th Division, and the
major part of the task given them was carried out. In
killed, wounded and missing they lost 208 officers and men
out of the 246 who had gone into battle.

ATTACK OF OCTOBER qth 197

Battle of Poelcapelle. — The weather now appeared
to have definitely broken. In the early days of October
it had been intermittently rainy. On the 7th heavy rain
again fell all day. These conditions interfered with the
artillery preparations ; and, though it was possible to
crush two hostile attacks on the 7 th, the perfection of
counter-battery work, which was needed to cover a further
advance, was impossible. The night of the 8th was
almost as terrible as any experienced in the campaign. It
was impenetrably black. The ground was deluged with
rain, and a high wind drove the rain into the men's faces
with the sting of whips. It was perilous to stray from the
path, for the ground was now for the most part a trough
of mud. Under such conditions it was not easy to
assemble for the attack in the early hours of the 9th. But
somehow the troops had become inured to such conditions,
and the 2nd Battalion were in their places at zero. The
attack was launched at 5.20 a.m. in conjunction with the
French. Once more there was little from which to draw
satisfaction in the role of the battalion. They were in
support to the Lancashire Fusiliers, on the right of the
29th Division, about 500 yards south of the Ypres-Staden
railway. Captain Hood, with two platoons of Y Com-
pany, pushed forward to reinforce the leading battalion
and came under severe rifle fire after crossing the Conde
House- (or Houthulst-) Poelcapelle road. But, advancing
from shell-hole to shell-hole, they got forward about 200
yards east of the road and were then brought to a stand-
still by sustained fire from the right front. The 4th Divi-
sion on the right could not be located, and Corporal Floyd
sent out with a patrol reported a gap of 300 yards on this
flank. The second objective had not been made good ;
there were no supports, and, accordingly, Captain Hood
consolidated the line from about 250 yards north of Conde
House to about 100 yards north of Miller's House.

Second Lieutenant Saul, with the right platoon of Z
Company, followed Y Company. The other officers of Z
became casualties ; and Saul followed Hood, passing

198 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

through a few groups of Lancashire Fusiliers in shell-holes,
until he was drawn off to the right, near the huts, about
300 yards north-east of the Mill on the Poelcapelle-
Houthulst road, where he was held up by rifle fire. On the
left X Company, followed by W, advanced by the watch,
passed through a line of Lancashire Fusiliers in shell-holes
and prepared to advance on the third objective. They
were in contact with the Worcesters on the left, but could
not locate any one on the right ; and the line of Lanca-
shires who were thought to be in front did not exist. They
went forward once more by the watch ; but the right was
held up by short shooting of our own barrage at Conde
House, and when they could advance again the protection
of the barrage had been lost.

It was at Conde House that Sergeant J. Molyneux won
the V.C. From the trench in front of the house a machine
gun kept up a persistent fire on the advancing troops.
Molyneux, who belonged to W Company, seeing that the
attack was completely checked, at once organised a
bombing party to clear the trench. Many of the Germans
were killed, and the machine gun was captured. Molyneux
then jumped out of the trench, and, calling on the men to
follow, rushed forward against Conde House. He was
well in front, and, when the others arrived, he was in the
thick of a hand-to-hand fight. So swift and impetuous
had been the assault that the struggle was soon over.
Some 20 to 30 prisoners were taken, and the position,
which had threatened to bring the whole battalion to a
standstill, was captured. His action was as serviceable
as it was daring.

But despite the heroism of the advance, the final
objective could not be reached. No troops were found
ahead, and the second objective had not been taken. A
line was therefore established with the right about 200
yards below the road which runs from the Poelcapelle-
Houthulst road north-east to the Ypres-Staden railway,
and the left resting on the Poelcapclle-Houthulst road
about 200 yards below the railway. It was literally a

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CONDITIONS OF 1HE FIGHTING 199

filthy advance ; it was costly ; it was unsatisfactory.
The battalion had advanced according to plan, but
apparently no one else had. There was no obvious land-
mark to stake out the day's work and round off their
ordeal. But it was not so much a misfortune of the
battalion's as a general characteristic of the operations in
this phase of the battle.

" By this time the persistent continuation of wet
weather had left no further room for hope that the condi-
tion of the ground would improve sufficiently to enable us
to capture the remainder of the ridge this year. By limited
attacks made during intervals of better weather, however,
it would still be possible to progress as far as Passchen-
daele, and, in view of the other projects which I had in
view, it was desirable to maintain the pressure on the
Flanders' front for a few weeks longer.

" To maintain his defence on this front the enemy had
been obliged to reduce the garrison of certain parts of his
line to a degree which justified the expectation that a
sudden attack at a point where he did not expect it might
attain a considerable local success. The front for such an
attempt had been selected. . . ." *

Such thoughts, however, were not the inspiration of the
troops, who had only their determination to see the thing
through to carry them over an ordeal that remains almost
indescribable. Another local attack was made on October
12th despite the heavy rain that continued almost through-
out the day. There was a further attack on October 22nd,
and the nth Battalion were called upon to hold the posi-
tions taken by the 10th Essex, who had successfully
attacked the brewery east of Poelcapelle, until the 24th.
They were then relieved and passed to Dirty Bucket Camp,
a very aptly described place.

Second Battle of Passchendaele. — On October 25th
a strong west wind somewhat dried the surface of the
ground and the night was fine. The stars shone out with
the sharpened clarity of a frosty atmosphere. Another

* Despatch.

200 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

small attack was planned for the 26th ; and the 2nd line
battalions of the London Regiment took up their positions
with the 58th Division, below the Poelcapelle-Spriet road.
The 2/2 Londons, attacking at 5.40 a.m., reached Cameron
House — about 250 yards below the Poelcapelle-Spriet
road — at 7.15 a.m. A Company under Captain Harper
cleared three of the four " pill-boxes " at this point and
sent back 17 prisoners. D Company, in command of
Second Lieutenant J. P. Howie at 6.30 a.m. reached a
" pill-box " about 200 yards above the Lekkerboterbeek
and stormed it, capturing 32 prisoners ; and three-quarters
of an hour later had to repel hostile counter-attacks
directed against this point and Cameron House. A Com-
pany, finding their flank uncovered by the retirement of
the unit on their left, were compelled to withdraw ; but
D clung to the mebus they had captured until the end of
the day. Moray House, lying about 550 yards due east of
this "pill-box," held up C Company all the day. The
casualties were 11 officers (3 killed) and 386 other
ranks.

The 2/3 Londons were not so fortunate. The men were
up to their waists in mud, and it was almost impossible
to reach the enemy, who shot down the men as they
struggled to advance. Nevertheless they managed to
push their way, on the left of the 2/2nd half-way to the
final objective, but were then unable to withstand the
prompt and violent counter-attack. The Germans in
the later stages of the battle depended much on wearing
off the edge of the attack by light advanced troops, and
then endeavoured to wipe out any success by immediate
and heavy counter-attacks. Part of the 2/2 Londons
had been able to hold their own against these tactics.
But the 2/3rd were forced back, and their retirement
involved the left of the 2/2nd. The 2/3M fell back to
the assembly positions where, with the help of the 2/ist,
they were able to beat off the enemy. The 2/3rd lost so
heavily on this occasion that when the battalion were
relieved only two officers and 17 men returned. Among

7th BATTALION'S A1TACK, OCTOBER 30TH 201

the casualties were Lieut. -Colonel P. W. Beresford, D.S.O.,

who was killed.

Somewhat similar was the fate of the 2/4th, who made

some headway, but could not capture their objectives.

D Company, under Captain C. A. Clarke, seized and held

advanced positions, and the battalion, with a casualty

list of 11 officers and 368 other ranks, had to be content

with this result. The Londons all suffered very terribly

from the state of the ground. Many men were drowned

in the shell-holes.

* * # *

Another attack was delivered on October 30th, and the
7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, who took part in it, suffered
from the conditions that had so gravely affected the
second line Londons. They too, were fighting in the
trough of mud and water while other battalions advanced
along the main ridge, where it was at least possible to
move. The 7th Battalion moved up to their position
below the Lekkerboterbeek, about 1,000 yards west of
the Paddebeek, on the afternoon of the 28th, and on the
following morning a practice barrage was put down about
200 yards beyond the line of the advanced posts. The
German counter-barrage came down on the support and
reserve companies, but it was fortunately not very heavy.
A strong position on the left of the front gave considerable
trouble and was reported to the brigade. It was then
arranged that this point should be attacked by C Company,
under Second Lieutenant Snelling.

The barrage came down at 5.50 a.m. on the 30th and
the advance began. The men soon lost touch with
headquarters, and this proved a serious handicap. Five
runners were sent up, but only one returned. Later, by
interrogating the wounded it was found that the right of
the line had got as far as the Paddebeek, though the left
was still held up by the strong point which had been
marked down before the beginning of the attack. The
resistance of this single focus conditioned the battle on the
63rd Division's front. At 12.55 Pm- Second Lieutenant

202 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Wells, who arrived at headquarters wounded, reported
that heavy machine-gun and rifle fire was coming from
this quarter. Men of all companies were lying out in
front of it and there had been heavy loss already in the
fruitless attempt to capture it. At 2.0 p.m. it was
arranged that Second Lieutenant Hawkins, with two
Stokes guns, should assist in another attack. Part of
C Company were to make a feint from the front while
Second Lieutenant Tricker led the attack from the flank.
Every effort was strained to make this assault successful.
It was arranged to deliver the attack at 5 a.m. on the
morning of October 31st, and about four hours before
Captain Ogle and Second Lieutenant Hawkins went forward
to complete the arrangements. But at 7.45 a.m. they
returned to report that the attack had again failed. Before
the attack began, a shell destroyed one of the guns and its
double crew of 20 men. The other fired six rounds and then
ceased to function owing to the mud. A withering machine-
gun fire was opened from the strong point, and Second
Lieutenant Tricker was compelled to abandon the attack.
The battalion had to hand over their positions on relief
with this obdurate focus of resistance still defiantly active.

But in the meantime the men had pushed forward on
the right, though they failed to cope with the main enemy
of the area and the time — the deep, adhesive mud.
Officers and men tried to find some feasible pathway
through it, but when they contrived to get forward the
mud and water had robbed them of the advantage of the
barrage. A small " pill-box " on the right was captured
and an escaping German shot. They pressed up to within
about 100 yards of Sourd Farm, about 600 yards east of
the obdurate strong point and not 150 yards south of it.

At 10.30 p.m. on the 30th it was arranged to relieve the
battalion by the Royal Marine Light Infantry, but this was
later changed to the Hawke Battalion. Arrangements
were completed by 1.15 p.m. on the 31st, and the Hawke
Battalion began to arrive at 7.30 p.m. The 7th Royal
Fusiliers were still lying in their advanced positions.

THE BATTLE OF YPRES ENDS 203

Stretcher bearers had been active since noon and practically
all the wounded were evacuated. Corporal Hancock, who
was wounded on the 30th, had been taken prisoner by the
Germans. He was removed to a dug-out where his wounds
were dressed and he was fed. Later on he was handed
over to the Fusiliers' stretcher bearers with the condition
that he gave no information as to the German dispositions.

It was 10.45 Pm- on tne 3Ist before the relief was
complete. A desultory shelling was taking place at the
time, and the battalion passed through a gassed area on
their way to Irish Farm, where German aeroplanes
greeted them. Fortunately there were no additional
casualties ; for the battalion had already lost heavily.
Captain Seward, Second Lieutenants Snelling and T. L.
Williams, and 65 other ranks were killed, Second Lieu-
tenants D. Bishop, M. A. Townshend, C. R. Wells and
S. W. Dunthorn, and 148 other ranks wounded, and 19
missing. Both of the attacking divisions were congratu-
lated by the XVIII. Corps commander, who stated that
" Nothing but the impossibility of crossing the mud pre-
vented their usual complete success." The condition of
the ground could not be exaggerated, as the commanding
officer could testify from personal observation. " No
troops could possibly pass over it." The seal is set on
this statement by the fact that the line, on this sector of
the Ypres front, lay at the end of the campaign very much
as the 7th Battalion left it.

But the long-drawn-out battle had now reached its last
stage. On November 6th, the Canadians carried Pas-
schendaele together with the high ground immediately to
the north and north-west. The nth Battalion returned
to the area in time for the ringing down of the curtain.
On this occasion (November 10th) they took over positions
south of Houthulst Forest. The ground was water-
logged. Beyond the duckboard tracks, drowning was
an ordinary risk, and it was hardly decent drowning.
The water in the shell-holes was strongly impregnated
with Yellow Cross gas. There was a considerable amount

204 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

of gas shell expended on this area, and in their first tour
of the trenches the nth Battalion had 21 gassed to 13
wounded. The latter included Lieut. -Colonel Sulman.
On November 22nd, the adjutant, Captain O. C. White-
man was killed on the way up to the front. He was
walking up with Major Ford, the second in command, a
few minutes before the battalion arrived, and finding
that one part of the track was being persistently shelled,
they took refuge behind a " pill-box," intending to wait
for the next shell and then dash across the dangerous spot.
Unfortunately the next shell fell just over the " pill-box "
and Whiteman was killed at once.

An incident that was marked with better luck will serve
to round off the narrative of the campaign. " In the
Houthulst Forest sector on the night of November 24th-
25th, 1917, Private T. Wright was accompanying his
platoon officer who was visiting his front line posts, when
an enemy patrol was seen approaching. The officer and
Private Wright, who were in No Man's Land at the time,
allowed the patrol to get close to the post, and then placed
themselves between the patrol and the enemy's lines and
called upon the patrol to surrender.

" The patrol, consisting of an officer and a corporal,
attempted to get away, but were prevented from doing
so by Private Wright, who shot the German officer in the
thigh and then knocked down the corporal, who offered
considerable resistance, and, moreover, was a strong
opponent, standing at least six feet one in height, and
strongly built. The two were made prisoners and valu-
able documents and other information was obtained from
them." Such is the official account of the incident which
gained for Private Wright the Military Medal.

But by this time the other project to which Sir Douglas
Haig had referred in his despatch as the chief reason for
maintaining the pressure on the Flanders' front had seen
fulfilment. At Cambrai the troops had gone through the
German line, and, attaining complete surprise, had secured
a remarkable success.

CHAPTER XI

THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI

At 6.20 a.m. on November 20th the Battle of Cambrai
began, the troops moving forward without any previous
artillery bombardment, on a front of six miles from the
east of Gonnelieu to the Canal du Nord, opposite Hermies.
Three battalions of the Royal Fusiliers were included in
the attacking divisions ; and it may be said, with due
reserve, that they and other Fusilier units who were
involved before the operations died down in December
won for themselves undying honour.

Noyelles. — The second battalion began to move up
to the area in the second week of November. On the
18th they lay at Peronne. The following day they
reached Equancourt, some 8,000 yards from the nearest
point of the British front line. They advanced to Dead
Man's Corner, marching through Fins and Queen's Cross,
and were in assembly positions on the right rear of the
16th Middlesex at 5.20 a.m. on the 20th. An hour later
they began to move up, in diamond formation, W Company
being in front, X and Y on the right and left rear respec-
tively, and Z in support. They marched on a bearing of
40 degrees until the original front line was reached, when
they halted in front of Plough Support. At 10.20 a.m.
they resumed the advance on the same line of bearing
until they passed through the 6th Division, who had cap-
tured and were holding the Hindenburg line. Shortly
afterwards they came under heavy machine-gun fire and
extended, continuing the advance in two waves, with the
support of numerous tanks. This was the period of the
general movement towards the final objective, and the
resistance which had been inappreciable in the earliest

206 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

stages was now, in places, very obstinate. At the out-
skirts of Marcoing several Germans ran forward and gave
themselves up ; but at the cross-roads the advance was
temporarily held up by machine-gun fire and a small
amount of rifle fire. However tanks reduced all obstacles,
and the battalion went forward again. Second Lieu-
tenant Burton was killed in the approach to Marcoing,
and Captain Learning and Second Lieutenant Piper were
wounded. Two platoons, under Captain Griffiths, went
through the village, and, after some brisk street fighting,
captured about ioo prisoners and some machine guns.

In the approach to Noyelles the enemy's fire was once
more experienced, the resistance on the Marcoing road
being very stubborn. But this was overcome and the
battalion reached their final objective at 3.15 p.m. and
dug in. A patrol of W Company at once pushed forward
to secure the bridge over the canal, north-east of Noyelles ;
but the intermediate bridge over the Scheldt, on the
Noyelles-Cambrai road, had been blown up, and the canal
bridge could not be reached. The wooden bridge over the
river farther south had been blown up within sight of a
scouting party. Z Company went forward to hold the
village and link up with the post beyond the cemetery, on
the north-western outskirts of the village. X dug in
between the River Scheldt and the canal, making two
strong points, one facing eastward and the other towards
the north, as a protection to the right flank, which was in
the air. Z Company promptly put the village in a state
of defence. A patrol of the 4th Dragoons, who had come
up a little after 4 p.m., were posted on the northern out-
skirts of the village. The blown-up Scheldt bridge was
seized and held ; and also the wooden one still intact in
the grounds of the Chateau, on the east of the village. So
the battalion lay that night. A German patrol was beaten
off by Lewis-gun and rifle fire. Not three miles away was
Cambrai. In front of them across the Scheldt Canal was
the enemy's Marcoing line. Behind them lay a greater
depth of country than had ever before been covered in

1HE SECOND BATTALION AT NOYELLES 207

one day's advance ; and the success had been achieved
with much less loss than had almost invariably accom-
panied the fierce battles in which the battalion had taken
part.

The following day, November 21st, appeared like a
reversion to type. By some oversight the outskirts of the
village had been abandoned early in the morning by the
Dragoons before the relief troops arrived. As a conse-
quence, when the enemy counter-attacked about 7.30 a.m.
they secured an immediate success, and the eastern end
of the village was overrun up to the church. There a
machine gun was established, and throughout the day a
bitter struggle took place. Second Lieutenant Peel very
gallantly destroyed two German machine guns in this
phase of the fighting and Second Lieutenant R. L. Sparks
was killed. The 18th Hussars, who were now in the
village, were involved in this fighting, and little headway
was made until about 4 p.m., when the two tanks Ben
Mychree and Buluwayo II. came up. These, advancing
with moppers-up of the 2nd Battalion and the 18th
Hussars, cleared the village, which was handed over to
C Company of the 1st Buffs, who relieved the Royal Fusi-
liers. This phase of the battle had not been bloodless,
but the 2nd Battalion had the satisfaction of handing over
intact the position which they had won at first. They
had captured 400 prisoners, two light and ten heavy
machine guns and three granatenwerfer. The battalion
billeted in Marcoing, where General de Lisle called to con-
gratulate them. The Mayor visited brigade headquarters
and thanked Captain Hood and the men who had fought
in Noyelles.

Meanwhile, on the southern flank of the advance the 8th
and 9th Battalions had also advanced successfully. The
8th formed up north and the 9th * south of the Cambrai

* The 9th Battalion had been commanded since July 3rd by a very
remarkable officer. Lieut. -Colonel W. V. L. van Someren, D.S.O.,
M.C., was reading for the Bar when war broke out, and, joining the
Inns of Court O.T.C. in August, 19T4, he went out to France with the
9th Royal Fusiliers as the junior subaltern. He was only twenty -oae

208 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

road in the Gonnelieu Trenches, in the rear of sections of
the Tank Corps. A certain amount of machine-gun fire
was encountered ; but both battalions captured all objec-
tives. Barrier Trench, south of la Vacquerie, was taken ;
Sonnet Farm was cleared, and also parts of the Hinden-
burg front and support line. The 8th captured 35 pri-
soners and two machine guns for a total casualty list of
22, including Second Lieutenant Symonds and 15 other
ranks killed. The 9th Battalion lost 94 all told, including
Captain A. Greathead and Lieutenant G. Hall, M.C.,
Second Lieutenant E. C. Butterworth died of wounds
later. At 10 p.m. that night the 9th moved up and
relieved the 7th East Surreys in the front line of the defen-
sive flank between Bleak House and Bonavis Farm, and
held this position during the night. The 8th Battalion
relieved the 9th on November 22nd, and two days later
carried out a local attack on Pelican Trench towards
Banteux, in conjunction with the 35th Brigade. They
attacked at 8 a.m. In seventeen minutes they had secured
their objectives, and within fifteen minutes were heavily
counter-attacked. There had been no time to consolidate
and 400 yards of Pelican Trench between B and D Com-
panies were lost. Bombing blocks were established in
the rear of the section of trench lost and the positions were
handed over on the following day to the 7th Royal Sussex.
In this brisk little engagement the battalion lost 58, in-
cluding Second Lieutenant Reed killed, and they took 28
prisoners.

Tadpole Copse.— The Londons had by this time
entered the battle. On November 20th they had co-
operated with the main assault by a Chinese attack, but
now they were to take their share in the actual fighting.
The early successes of the advance had been at once too
little and too great. If they had carried the troops no

years of age when he took over the command of the battalion,
and must have been one of the youngest, if not actually the youngest,
of commanding officers. He retained command of the unit until it was
disbanded in June, 1919, and was in charge of the 36th Brigade for the
two weeks'preceding the Armistice.

ACTION AT BULLECOURT, NOVEMBER 2oth 209

further than Flesquieres ridge, a position would have been
gained which was possible to hold without undue risk.
But the line had been flung out to the north well beyond
the ridge, and this ground could not be held unless the
Bourlon ridge which commanded it was also in our posses-
sion, except at excessive cost. On the west of the ridge
the 56th Division was involved. Tadpole Copse, lying
about 1,000 yards west of Mceuvres, formed " a command-
ing tactical point in the Hindenburg line . . . the posses-
sion of which would be of value in connection with the
left flank of the Bourlon position." * It was stormed on
the evening of the 22nd by the Queen's Westminsters. The
trenches in advance of the copse were retaken by the
enemy on the 24th ; and at 1 p.m. on the 25th bombers
of the 4th Londons, with the Rangers, attacked and re-
captured the trenches. A patrol of D Company under
Captain A. M. Duthie pushed forward and captured three
machine guns. Late at night the Germans attempted to
rush one of the battalion's bombing blocks, but they were
beaten off. The 2nd Londons on the left of the position
spent several days beating off the intermittent German
attacks. Constant vigilance was necessary and, it may be
added, was forthcoming. On the Lagnicourt sector a
patrol of the 1st Londons distinguished themselves on the
night of the 22nd. Second Lieutenant Long and three
men of A Company crossed to the enemy wire, passed
through and lay in a German outpost trench until a hostile
patrol, sent out to examine their own wire, passed them.
The Londons allowed them to pass and then surrounded
and captured the two Germans.

Bullecourt. — In the subsidiary attack about Bulle-
court the 4th Royal Fusiliers were cast for the role of maid-
of-all-work. They had to be prepared to support the
Connaught Rangers (16th Division) on their left ; a com-
pany was lent to the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, and
another to the 12th West Yorks. They held the remainder
of the 9th Brigade front on the flanks of the battle front,

* Despatch.
f. P

210 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

holding 300 yards of the 16th Division sector. During
the night work was begun on a communication trench to-
wards the left of the objective, and a post was dug in
advance of the line and made defensible before zero. Four
platoons advanced at a minute after zero (6.20 a.m.) and
began their work of establishing posts between the old
front line and the objective. A listening post was encoun-
tered by the right company, two of the enemy being made
prisoners and the rest killed. With their aid, in a con-
fused battle, the assaulting troops completed the work of
the Spring Campaign by capturing the remainder of the
Hindenburg support trench on this sector. Another
spirited advance was made on November 25th, in which
the 4th Battalion passed through the enemy wire without
opposition, and took and consolidated the German first and
second lines north-west of Bullecourt. Finding a German
post unoccupied due north of the town, they seized it and
worked along Bulldog Trench until held up by a block.
Consolidation was at once carried out, and the positions
were firmly held.

The Counter-attack. — The 2nd Division had now
come up to consolidate the new positions, and the four
battalions of Royal Fusiliers were disposed about Bourlon
Wood. But already it was evident that the Germans did
not intend to admit the finality of the British success. The
increased registration of hostile artillery, the movements
of troops and transport behind the German lines, pointed
to the imminence of a counter-attack. The ground
gained in the Battle of Cambrai made a distinct salient in
the German lines, and the German activity embraced not
only the front affected by the advance, but extended as far
as Vendhuile. When the German advance began it was
directed upon converging lines against the northern and
southern faces of the salient.

On the latter sector the 8th and 9th Battalions felt the full
shock of the German assault. The 8th, on the left, lay east
of La Vacquerie, and the 9th, on the right, lay in trenches
south of the Gouzeaucourt-Cambrai road. At 6.45 a.m.

THE COUNTER-ATTACK, NOVEMBER 30TH 211

on November 30th an intense artillery bombardment began,
and at 7.40 infantry attacks developed. Almost imme-
diately the resistance of the 35th Brigade and part of the
55th Division on the right of the 9th Battalion was over-
come, and C Company was forced to withdraw, taking up
a position astride the Cambrai road. The Germans
advanced down the Hindenburg front line after the troops
of the 35th Brigade to the brigade headquarters. B Com-
pany at once delivered a counter-attack over the open,
forced back the Germans 200 yards, when bombing blocks
were made in all the trenches and the position was held
firmly. D Company, on the left, were surrounded, and
most of them became casualties. Only 1 officer and
13 other ranks succeeded in fighting their way back
to the main body of the battalion. Contact was made on
this flank with the 8th Battalion, who had taken up the
trench near the road running vid Good Old Man Farm to
Ribecourt ; but the right flank was still in the air until
10 a.m., when the 7th Royal Sussex manned the reserve
line immediately in the rear of the battalion, and this
position was connected with that of the 9th Battalion.
Throughout the day bombing encounters continued.
Neither water nor rations could be obtained. German
aeroplanes flying only about 50 feet above them harassed
them continually with machine-gun fire, despite the
attempts of Lewis guns and rifles to drive them off. Yet,
with the help of about half a company of the 7th Norfolks,
they held to their positions.

The 8th Battalion, on the left, had gone through a
similar ordeal. The Germans, who had broken through
on the south, appeared in great strength on the right rear
of the front line companies, who, in a few minutes, were
completely cut off. Some 12 men only fought their way
back to the reserve line. D Company went up to support
and were overwhelmed and fell back, fighting, to the
reserve line where the Battalion headquarters were estab-
lished. The Germans were only 50 yards from the reserve
line when the Commanding Officer, Lieut-Colonel N. B.

p 2

212 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Elliott-Cooper, D.S.O., M.C., collected all available men
of battalion headquarters and C and D Companies, about
120 in all, and led them in a counter-attack. The position
was critical, but Colonel Elliott-Cooper's forlorn hope
achieved an immediate success. The small body went
forward cheering ; the Germans wavered and were then
driven back over the Cambrai road. But there heavy
machine-gun fire was encountered. Elliott-Cooper him-
self fell. All the officers became casualties ; and, seeing
the impossibility of maintaining and consolidating the
position, he ordered the withdrawal. He was only 29
years of age, and by this order he deliberately accepted
the bitter fate of falling into the hands of the Germans.
His advance had been daring and resolute. His order for
the withdrawal was marked by high courage and selfless-
ness. He deserved, as he received, the Victoria Cross ;
but, unfortunately, he died a prisoner in Germany.

The survivors fell back as they were ordered and with-
drew to the reserve line. The German advance was
checked in this quarter, and, with the 37th Brigade on the
left and the 9th Battalion on the right, the new line was
established. All enemy attacks were beaten off. The 8th
lost 10 officers and 247 men. The 9th had lost 13 officers,
including Lieutenant H. Reeve, Second Lieutenants
Levi, Wason and Disney, killed, and 208 other ranks.

There was no further attack that night. But at 7 a.m.
on the morning of December 1st the Germans attempted
to cross the Cambrai road on the front of the 9th Battalion,
towards La Vacquerie. They were repulsed by rifle and
machine-gun fire ; and the attack was repeated seven times
with the same result. At 12.30 p.m. the enemy opened a
heavy bombardment and then began bombing attacks.
These were beaten off until about 1 p.m., when the supply
of bombs had completely given out. The battalion were
forced to withdraw 150 yards to a point just north of the
Cambrai road, where they held the enemy. These two
battalions had fought an engagement in conditions that
were not paralleled until the German offensive of March,

Lieut.-Colonel N. B. Elliott-Cooper, V.C., D.S.O., M C, who won

THE V.C. WHILE COMMANDING THE 8TH ROYAL FUSILIEKS AT THE

Battle of Cambsai.

EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN GEE 213

1918, and, never ceasing to be an ordered fighting force,
had given ground only when no troops could possibly have
held it. At the end they handed over an organised
position to the relieving troops. The 9th Battalion were
the only troops to retain their positions south of the
Cambrai-Gouzeaucourt road for these two days, during
which no rations reached them, and the supply of bombs
completely failed.

Les Rues Vertes. — The 2nd Battalion had come back
into support on November 28th as counter-attack bat-
talion ; and when the German assault began Y and Z
Companies were lying about the sugar factory at Masnieres,
W was in the quarry and X off the Cambrai road. Mas-
nieres was heavily shelled from 2 to 5 a.m., and at 6.15
the battalion stood to arms. At 7 a.m. the German
attack from Crevecoeur made such rapid progress that the
battery positions were taken in reverse, and the southern
flank of Masnieres was uncovered. X and Z Companies
were quickly brought across the canal by the lock bridge
near the sugar factory to form a defensive flank as far as
the old Brigade rear headquarters in Les Rues Vertes, while
two platoons of X Company were sent to help in the street
fighting. For the Germans had not only penetrated the
suburb, but had even captured the ammunition dump.
The troops in point of fact were called upon to defend a
position which virtually had already been lost.

Into this picture it is difficult to fit the achievement
of Captain Gee, who won the Victoria Cross for multiplied
acts of daring that seem, on calm reflection, to outshine
the inventions of writers of fiction. At 8.50 a.m. the
position in Les Rues Vertes seemed to be lost ; and the
amazing thing is that it was not abandoned. No one
exactly knew where the Germans were, but they appeared
to be everywhere and certainly in the most inconvenient
places. Captain Gee, who was then at brigade head-
quarters, was ordered by telephone to form a defensive
flank with servants and headquarters details. He at once
sent Captain Loseby with 6 men to get into touch with

214 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the right flank. Taking 4 signallers and 2 orderlies with
him, he then set out to get a grip of the situation. But at
the first corner firing was heard. A little further on the
Germans could be seen. With four of the men he opened
fire, while the other two seized whatever came first —
tables, chairs, etc. — to form a barricade. The enemy were
held off for about five minutes, and then a Lewis gun came
up, and there was time to breathe. The second house
beyond the barricade was the Brigade ammunition dump,
full of small arm ammunition, bombs, etc., and Captain Gee
determined to get to it. He knocked a hole through the
wall of a house on his own side of the barricade and crawled
through to the first dump, only to find both dump men
dead and the quartermaster-sergeant missing. He then
climbed a wall to the bomb store and was immediately
seized by two German sentries.

He had a bayonet stick with him and a revolver, but he
could not reach the latter, and in the struggle he killed
one of the sentries with the stick while an orderly shot the
other. He got back to the road again with a better
realisation of the desperate nature of the crisis. Some
30 or 40 men had now arrived. Half of them were sent
to Captain Loseby, others were set to the task of building
another barricade ; and, with the six remaining, he recap-
tured the bomb store and cleared three houses. Two
companies of Guernsey Light Infantry now arrived from
brigade headquarters. These were sent to the uncovered
flank, posts were established on the three bridges across
the canal, and a strong company were sent to the out-
skirts of the village with orders to build a barricade and
link up on the left.

After this a bombing party were organised to set about
clearing the houses on the Marcoing road. At this point
the Germans' nerves appeared to wear thin, and they ran
from house to house as the bombers got to work. Captain
Gee, seeing that this part of his task appeared to be
approaching completion, began to attend to the supply of
ammunition and bombs to the troops across the canal and

Captain R. Gee, V.C., M.P., who won the V.C. at the Battle

of Cambrai.

SECOND BATTALION'S FINE DEFENCE 215

at the bridges. He then worked up to the chateau and
through a hole in the wall into the brewery yard. The
Germans had already left ; and it was evident that when
the houses on the other side of the Marcoing road were
cleared, the village would again be in our possession.
This task was handed on to a small party, and Captain Gee
went up to the roof of the chateau to take stock of the
position. The Germans were seen to be digging in about
100 yards clear of the village. He at once got a supply of
bombs, and with the help of another orderly he put the
machine-gun team out of action and captured the gun.
Another machine gun was in the house near the Crucifix.
A Stokes gun was ordered up, and Captain Gee now saw
that there were posts all round the suburbs.

At the end of the village the men were still being troubled
by a machine gun, and there were also numerous snipers
at large. For a moment he had to take refuge in a shell-
hole ; but it was necessary to order up a Stokes gun before
dark to deal with the machine gun, which was situated in a
corner house. So he made a dash for the barricade,
reaching it across the open in safety, but was caught in the
knee by a sniper as he jumped the barricade. He had had
four orderlies shot at his side, had been a prisoner for a
few minutes and had come through almost unprecedented
risks. He wished now to carry on, but was ordered back
to have his wound dressed.

Meanwhile part of the open flank had been held stead-
fastly by the 2nd Battalion. At 2 p.m. Captain Lathom
Browne, with two platoons of W Company and the re-
maining platoon of X, took over the defences of Les Rues
Vertes. The remaining platoon of W Company, under
Second Lieutenant Brain, was sent to the sugar factory to
hold the lock bridge. To these positions the troops held
firmly. At 6 p.m. warning orders were issued in case the
Brigade had to evacuate the area ; but, later in the
evening, congratulations and orders to hold on to the end
were received from army headquarters.

At six o'clock the next morning a heavy hostile barrage

2i6 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

was put down and a counter-attack followed. The enemy
were beaten off by machine-gun and rifle fire. At 4 p.m.
the enemy attacked in great force once more. On this
occasion the advanced posts were driven in and the
Germans entered the village. They were checked ; but
it was clear that the thin line of weary men could not
hold out indefinitely in so precarious a position. At
7.30 p.m. the order to evacuate Masnieres and Les Rues
Vertes arrived ; and at 11.15 the withdrawal began.
In exactly an hour from the beginning of the retire-
ment the last post at the sugar factory moved away.
In small parties the battalion moved off westward, crossed
the canal near Marcoing, and thence marched south of the
Villers Plouich road to the Hindenburg support line,
about 500 yards east of the Bois Couillet. At this point
the battalion found their cookers and blankets. They
were very weary ; but they had steadfastly held to their
positions in a time when the front line was like a leaky
dam ; and their defence must be accounted one of the
great episodes in the battle.

Bourlon. — But it was in the Bourlon area that the
main attack was delivered some two hours after the
assault was made in the south. The density of the attack
was extraordinary. Against the three divisions in line,
the 56th, 2nd and 47th, four German divisions were
directed with three more in support. From high ground
within the salient, officers could see through their glasses
the enemy advance, and the area seemed to be packed
with men. The 2nd Division had taken over the section
of the line between Bourlon Wood and Mceuvres. In the
front line, lying between the 1st Royal Berks on the right
and the 1st King's Royal Rifle Corps on the left, were the
17th Royal Fusiliers. At the opening of the battle they
were holding a long trench (the " Rat's Tail "), which ran,
almost at right angles from the main British line, 1,000
yards to a point overlooking the enemy's position. B
Company, under Captain Walter Napoleon Stone, were
occupying the sector nearest the German front line when

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CAPTAIN STONE'S HEROISM 217

the attack began ; and he was ordered to withdraw his
company to the main line, leaving a rearguard to cover
the retirement, as the position was judged to be too
exposed. Captain Stone sent back three platoons, but,
with Lieutenant Benzecry, remained behind with the
rearguard. The action of this rearguard, under their
inspiring leader, stands out remarkable in a day of extra-
ordinary exploits. With bayonet, bullet and bomb, they
held off the whole of the German attack until the main
position of the battalion was fully organised, and they
died to a man with their faces to the enemy.

Captain Stone's behaviour will never be forgotten while
heroic deeds continue to inspire. The attack had deve-
loped against him and his small rearguard with un-
expected speed, owing to the enemy being concealed in
some dead ground. He stood on the parapet with the
telephone, under a tremendous bombardment and hail of
bullets, closely observing the enemy, and sending back
valuable information. When last seen, the enemy had
closed in upon the little band. Stone was seen fighting
to the last, until he was shot through the head. The
extraordinary coolness of this officer, and the accuracy of
his information, enabled dispositions to be made just in
time to save the line from disaster. In the official account
of this incident, published at the beginning of the year
1918, Captain Stone's action is described "as a devoted
example of the greatest of all sacrifices." He was granted
the Victoria Cross. This was the third to be won by the
Royal Fusiliers on the same day.

At 1 p.m. the 17th Battalion reorganised their line. The
two advanced companies in the " Rat's Tail " had been
withdrawn to the main line ; but C still retained two
blocks beyond it, and these were held throughout the day.
Their line was intact. Their positions were closely linked
up with the units on the right and left ; and the men
" were really enjoying the experience of killing Germans
in large numbers at point-blank range." *

* Official account.

218 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Early in the afternoon a very heavy attack was deli-
vered on a front a mile west of Bourlon Wood. This was
beaten off except on the extreme right of the 2nd Division,
where the ist Royal Berks lay on the right of the 17th
Royal Fusiliers. Three posts were there lost, and a gap
was formed at the same time between two battalions of
the 47th Division. A company of the 23rd Royal
Fusiliers were sent up, and, by a sharp counter-attack,
re-established the Royal Berks' line. Another company
assisted the 17th Battalion later in the day ; and at 10 p.m.
the battalion were relieved by the 24th Royal Fusi-
liers. The strength of the 17th Battalion on leaving the
line was 20 officers and 351 other ranks.

The 22nd Battalion relieved the 13th Essex with two
companies and the Highland Light Infantry with one
company on the night of December ist. The 13th Essex,
on the left of the 2nd Division, had been heavily engaged
on November 30th, but the 22nd Battalion's tour of the
trenches was comparatively uneventful, except for a
bombing attack on December 3rd, which was beaten off
after half an hour's brisk fighting ; and on the 5th the
battalion were withdrawn to support in the old British
line east of Hermies.

On the night of December 4th the 24th Battalion
evacuated their positions according to orders ; and on the
following day, when the Germans began to make their
way cautiously forward, they did considerable execution
on them. On December 6th, at 6.15 a.m., the enemy
attacked one of the battalion's bombing posts about 100
yards south of the Bapaume-Cambrai road. For about
half an hour the Lewis gunners and bombers fought at
close quarters, causing the Germans considerable damage.
The defence rallied round the cool action of Sergeants A. F.
Wood, E. Tarleton and Lance-Corporal G. Day, and the
enemy were driven off. These three men were awarded
the Military Medal for their skill and courage. A little
later the enemy penetrated through a gap in the lines into
the village of Graincourt. Sergeant D. McCabe was sent

WITHDRAWAL AT CAMBRAI 219

out, with a patrol of two men, down the sunken road on
the east of the village. By skilful and daring handling
of his patrol, McCabe located the position of the enemy
and inflicted heavy casualties upon them. McCabe also
was awarded the Military Medal.

Another evacuation, the final one, was carried out on
the night of the 6th, and by the early hours of
December 7th the troops had successfully reached the new
positions. The 17th Battalion had taken up positions in
front of Lock 7, on the canal, on December 4th. At that
time the guns were passing through them and dug-outs
were being destroyed preparatory to the first stage of the
withdrawal. Two days later the rearguards were with-
drawn in front of the advancing Germans. At 1 a.m. on
December 7th the battalion were ordered to establish
three posts roughly 500 yards in front of the line, to be
held at all costs. But it was impossible to site them in the
darkness, and they were not established until dawn. On
the following day the battalion were in touch with advance
parties of the enemy. Corporals Whitson and Lowry
made a gallant attempt to capture seven Germans, but
they were unable to sprint fast enough ! Intermittent
bombing engagements took place during the whole of the
day, and the Germans began to register on the front line.
Shelling continued during the night, and the following day
they were repeatedly attacked. They were holding at
this time 2,000 yards of the front line ; and when they
were relieved on the night of the 9th they were thoroughly
exhausted. But by this time the fighting had died down.
The positions remained substantially the same for some
months until the German offensive began.

CHAPTER XII

INTERLUDE

The period which filled the interval between the Battle
of Cambrai and the German attack on March 21st, 1918,
marked a change in the general outlook which had its
influence on the character of the training and daily
routine. The High Command issued in December orders
" having for their object immediate preparation to meet a
strong and sustained hostile offensive. In other words a
defensive policy was adopted. . . . "*

In any case the winter imposed a truce on the armies,
though it was impossible, in the earlier part of the period,
to rule out the possibility of further operations on the
Italian front, and several British divisions were sent
thither. Included in this force were the 41st Division
with their two Fusilier battalions.

But the lines were never quite at rest. Raids and
counter-raids took place intermittently even on the quiet
sectors. One incident that deserves mention is the German
raid on the extreme left of the 17th Battalion's front.
They were stationed on July 24th, 1917, in the canal sector,
the training ground of numerous units, when a German
patrol of about nine men suddenly fell upon three men hold-
ing a post in East Surrey Crater. A desperate struggle took
place. One of the men contrived to make his escape and
warned the front line. The other two were wounded,
and the Germans dragged them back towards their front
line. But the wounded men, finding the prospect uncon-
genial, kept their wits about them, and one of them
suddenly broke away, and although wounded in five or
six places, braved our own Lewis guns, which had opened

* Despatch.

WINTER RAIDS, 1917— 18 221

fire, and regained our lines. One German was left dead
in the crater, and in this way both sides secured identifi-
cations at equal cost.

Another raid upon the same battalion, but in the
Cambrai sector, had also a slightly paradoxical result.
On December 21st some 30 Germans suddenly raided the
battalion front at 10 o'clock in the morning. They were
beaten off with ease by D Company, as the enemy
obligingly forgot to pull the strings of their bombs before
throwing them. A prisoner was taken and an interesting
trophy secured. This was one of the new automatic
pistols, which held 32 rounds in its magazine. The
17th determined to return the compliment, and on the
following day a fighting patrol went out. But suddenly
the fog lifted, and modesty suggested a prompt retirement.

A more important and useful raid took place almost on
the eve of the German offensive. Second Lieutenant Fish
and 17 other ranks entered the German lines on the night
of March 18th, 1918. The previous day much movement
had been observed in the opposite lines, and it was desirable
to know the state of the trench garrisons and to secure
identifications. Entering the German trenches opposite
Anchor Sap, the small patrol killed 8 or 10 Germans,
brought back three shoulder straps, secured useful
information as to the defence system and returned with
only one casualty. For this excellent little action the
battalion received the congratulations of all the brigades
and of the 2nd Division.

Both the 13th and the 10th Battalions figured in a more
serious operation which took place on March 8th, 1918.
On this day the 13th Battalion were in the front line
astride the Menin road, with the 13th King's Royal Rifle
Corps on their left, when they were warned by the brigade
that the enemy intended to attack during the night to
capture the high ground north-west of Gheluvelt, which
had been won by a great outpouring of blood in the summer
and autumn offensive of 1917. The companies were
warned, and a preparatory bombardment was fired at

222 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

dawn, but without provoking a reply. At 6.30 a.m. the
Germans opened a bombardment, which grew fiercer after
9.30 a.m. and continued with a short break at 1 o'clock
until about 5 p.m. North of the Menin road the shelling
was very severe, and the S.O.S. was sent up by the bat-
talion on the left. The counter-barrage came down on
the whole sector within two minutes. On the front of
the 13th Battalion no attack developed ; but the bom-
bardment had caused heavy casualties in No. 3 Company,
north of the road, and at 6.30 p.m. Sergeant A. Clark sent
back a message, " Please send as many stretcher-bearers
as possible. Only few men left to carry on. Two officers
killed, two wounded. Please send reinforcements as soon as
possible. ' ' Clark, in the meantime, took over the command
of the company, re-disposed the men under heavy shell
and trench-mortar fire, until such time as reinforcements
could be sent, thereby denying to the enemy an attempted
lodgment in our front line posts. Clark received the
Military Medal for his behaviour on this occasion. A
platoon of No. 2 Company was at once sent forward, and
platoons of No. 4 followed afterwards under Second
Lieutenant H. J. Rowland, and the line was held intact.
Captain F. W. Bower and Second Lieutenant W. Hender-
son were killed on this occasion ; five officers were wounded,
and there were 140 other ranks casualties.

Meanwhile, on the left, the 10th Battalion had become
involved. They were in support at the beginning of the
battle, but at 2 p.m., after a heavy bombardment, the
Germans attacked the 13th King's Royal Rifle Corps, and
D Company were sent up as reinforcements. The
Germans attacked in great force, and, after a severe
struggle, penetrated the British positions. The desperate
situation which resulted provided Lance-Corporal Charles
Graham Robertson, M.M., of D Company, with an oppor-
tunity for an action calling as much on his skill as his
heroism. He was in charge of a machine gun, and, rinding
the Germans had almost cut him off, he sent back two men
for reinforcements. Meanwhile, with one man, he remained

ACTION OF MARCH 8th, 1918 223

at his post, and inflicted heavy loss with his gun until he
was completely cut off. No help arrived, and he with-
drew about 10 yards, and there stood again, pouring a
sustained fire into the enemy. The two men were at
length compelled to evacuate the position, and they fell
back upon a defended post. The Germans continued to
press forward in great numbers, and Robertson mounted
the parapet with his comrade, and, fixing his gun in a
shell-hole, resumed his task of shooting down the Germans
who were pouring down and across the top of an adjoining
trench. The value of Robertson's resolute and skilful
defence can hardly be exaggerated. His comrade was
killed ; he himself was severely wounded. But he worked
his gun until his ammunition was exhausted, and then he
managed to crawl back, bringing the gun with him. He
was awarded the V.C.

At 7.15 the Germans had broken into the line, and B Com-
pany were sent up. Lieut. -Colonel Waters now took over
the command of the brigade sector. Communications with
brigade headquarters had been cut. The 13th Rifles had
lost heavily, and the Germans had established themselves,
with machine guns, in our lines. Second Lieutenants
Dexter and Scott, of the Fusiliers, made several journeys
to the front under a most severe fire with 20 men from
13th K.R.R.C. headquarters and carried up 2,360 bombs.
When darkness fell the Germans had secured a small part
of the British positions, but were firmly established there.
During the night three counter-attacks were launched.
B Company attacked first and failed through lack of
bombs. A and B Companies then advanced and suc-
ceeded in establishing a strong point, but were unable to
press the attack further. On the third attack a complete
success was achieved, the enemy were driven back and
the position was re-established. The 10th had lost
heavily in the operations, but not so heavily as the 13th
Battalion. Second Lieutenants H. C. B. Sandall and
W. G. Crook were killed, five officers were wounded, and
there were 61 other ranks casualties. Later in the day

224 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

(March 9th) a divisional wire was received : " The Corps
Commander wishes to congratulate the division, and
especially the two battalions concerned, for their success-
ful defence in last night's attack." Lieut .-Colonel Waters
and Captain Bainbridge received the D.S.O., Captain
Tanner and Second Lieutenant Edington the M.C., and
Captain Penfold a bar to the M.C., for these operations,
with the congratulations of the Corps, Divisional and

Brigade Commanders.

* * * *

The 7th Battalion on December 21st performed an
exploit which seems almost incredible. They were rest-
ing and refitting in the north when Lieut. -Colonel C. Play-
fair succumbed to the stress and strain of the Ypres opera-
tions and had to go to hospital. Major A. E. Gallagher,
D.S.O., took over command on the 2nd until two days
later, when Major E. G. L'Estrange Malone rejoined from
divisional headquarters. On December 9th they left the
area and a week later relieved the 9th Royal Irish Fusi-
liers on Welsh Ridge, in the salient south of Marcoing. On
the 21st a message was received from brigade head-
quarters asking that every endeavour should be made to
secure a prisoner for identification purposes. It was a
bright moonlight night ; there was a white frost on the
ground, and for 300 yards one could see clearly. It was
therefore the very last kind of night for patrol activity.
But Lance-Corporal T. Norris took out a patrol, and, dis-
covering that the enemy were also desirous of securing a
prisoner, decoyed them into the hands of a standing patrol
under Corporal G. Collins. A prisoner was thus captured
within three and a half hours of the request being re-
ceived from the brigade. The Divisional and Brigade
Commanders congratulated the battalion on their promp-
titude, which was surely unique, and Lance-Corporal
Norris secured the Military Medal.

The battalion spent Christmas out of the trenches, but
on December 27th they went back to the front line in time
to receive a heavy Germanfattack. The position was

GERMAN ATTACK ON SEVENTH BATTALION 225

almost untenable. The trench was the former Hinden-
burg support trench, and the wire was still standing west-
ward. There were no communication trenches leading
back to the support line, and the right of the line formed a
sharp salient with a sap at one point to the German trench
blocked by a pile of sandbags. At 8 a.m. on the morning
of December 30th the Germans opened a furious barrage,
chiefly enfilade, and then attacked over the snow in white
suits. B, C and D Companies suffered heavily. D in the
salient lost all their officers and most of the men either
killed or captured. The men could not retire, even if they
had wished to do so, because of the lack of communication
trenches. The wire precluded a retirement over the open.
Captain Davidson, the medical officer, and the whole of
the aid post in D Company headquarters were captured.
A counter-attack was delivered, and, though it failed, the
Germans were held and the position was consolidated. On
the following day the enemy put down a heavy barrage, and
between twenty and thirty Germans were seen approaching
the line. A sharp burst of Lewis-gun fire dispersed them,
and the battalion were relieved later in the day. They had
lost 9 officers (6 missing) and 244 other ranks. The bulk
of the latter were missing. The 7th were now reduced
to a trench strength of 11 officers and 167 other ranks,
and when Lieut .-Colonel Malone returned from leave on
January 13th he found his battalion amalgamated, tem-
porarily, with the Artists Rifles.

The 1st and 12th Royal Fusiliers had left the Ypres
area in the third week of September ; and on the 25th
found themselves at Vadencourt, near the Omignon River.
On October 28th — 29th both battalions were in the front
line when a patrol of the 1st were caught by a much
heavier German patrol who attempted to surround them.
But the Fusiliers retired behind their wire and inflicted
heavy casualties. It was apparently the same German
patrol which, a few hours later, ran into the " Day Posts '
of the 1 2th Battalion in Somerville Wood. They were
driven off, leaving behind a German officer who provided

226 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

a useful identification. Second Lieutenant Burch and
Lance-Corporal J. Thompson were officially commended
for their services on this occasion. The 12th Battalion
were very active in patrolling at this time, and a letter
from Major-General A. C. Daly, G.O.C. 24th Division,
congratulated the battalion in striking terms : " Second
Lieutenant Hills, of the 12th Royal Fusiliers, spends most
of his time in No Man's Land, and has been doing excep-
tionally good reconnaissance and patrol work ever since
the division came into this bit of the line. He has gained
valuable information several times. Another officer who
always accompanies Second Lieutenant Hills is Second
Lieutenant Mears-Devenish, also of the 12th Royal Fusi-
liers." It was but natural that after this the patrols
should be more active and venturesome than ever ; and
on November 27th Lieutenant A. H. Lee, M.C., pro-
ceeded along the Omignon River in daylight reconnoitring.
Congratulations were received for this piece of work from
the Brigade and Divisional Commanders.

The 1st Battalion, while in divisional reserve at Ven-
delles on December 16th, had the honour of being in-
spected by Major-General W. B. Hickie, C.B. They had
returned to the line on the Hervilly left subsector, with
Major Hebden in command, when they were called upon
to assist a raid of the Rifle Brigade. Their role consisted
of making a demonstration to deceive the Germans as to
where the raid was taking place. On the night of January
19th, 1918, dummy figures were erected in front of the
barbed wire, and at 6.45 the following morning the Rifle
Brigade, on the right of the Fusiliers, raided the enemy
trenches. The 1st Battalion assisted at the same time
with intense Lewis-gun fire, and no doubt the three groups
of dummy figures looked sufficiently impressive. The
German artillery retaliated, but there were no casualties,
and the episode seemed only an amusing interlude.

On December nth the 4th Battalion relieved the 8th
East Yorks in the Noreuil right subsector, very near the
place where they had been engaged at the time of the battle

SERVICE IN ITALY 227

of Cambrai. The Pudsey support trench was lost the
following day, and it was arranged that the 4th Royal
Fusiliers should retake it and London support trench.
But the Germans heavily bombarded the line immediately
before the attack, and the venture proved a failure. W
and Y Companies relieved the 12th West Yorks and 1st
Northumberland Fusiliers in the front line and London
support. Y and Z were placed under the orders of the
13th King's Liverpools, and the latter company, holding
a block in Pudsey support, succeeded in advancing it 150
yards up the trench. But this useful little success proved
to be a dubious advantage, for Second Lieutenant Goddard
was killed on December 15th owing to our own artillery
falling short into this support. In addition to this, there
were 65 casualties among other ranks.

Italy. — For two of the Fusilier Battalions the winter
held a very pleasant experience. The 26th and 32nd
Royal Fusiliers entrained in the second week of November
for Italy. At Ventimiglia, where they crossed the Franco-
Italian frontier, C and D Companies of the 26th Battalion
marched through the town amid scenes which recall the
reception of the British troops in France in August, 1914.
The march became a sort of triumphal progress, and
showers of carnations fell upon the men. Italy had
recently suffered a very heavy defeat, and the troops had
not yet shown that they could check the apparently
irresistible advance of the enemy. It was this that made
the appearance of the British troops so welcome to the
Italians ; and the two Fusilier battalions, to the end of
their stay in Italy, received the most cordial reception
from the people. At Genoa the officers of C and D Com-
panies of the 26th Battalion were welcomed in the wait-
ing-room of the main station, though it was near midnight
and they were in easy stages of undress. Barrels of wine
were broached on the platform, and the companies departed
flushed and happy.

On November 19th the 26th Battalion began a series of
forced marches from Cerlongo to the front. They marched

228 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

in battle order with advance guards, and at night outposts
were placed. During the seven days November 19th —
25th inclusive, the battalion covered 141 kilometres with
only one day's rest. On the 24th they made 32 kilo-
metres over rough mountain roads. The billets were
almost invariably poor on this march ; and it says much
for the battalion that few men dropped out, though many
were of short service. On December 1st the battalion
reached Bavaria, south of the Montello, on the right rear
of the brigade.

Service in Italy was not very strenuous for either batta-
lion. The Montello is a hog's-back hill which lies in the
angle of the Piave where it turns south towards the coast.
It falls sharply to the river with a shallow foreshore.

The river in winter was rough and icy cold, with a swift
current that constantly changed the landmarks in the
shallows, and made cross river patrols precarious and well
nigh impossible. Cover was plentiful on the Montello.
Caves and dug-outs in the sides of the numerous hollows
of the hill gave ample protection, with the river as a guard
against surprise. But movement during the day was
forbidden, and the night was turned into the normal day
with its routine of meals, beginning at 6 p.m. A series of
parallel roads cut the hill ; and the 26th held the left series
between roads 3 and 5, with the 32nd on the right, guard-
ing the Nervesa bridgehead.

There were many patrols during the second tour of the
front line trenches after the Christmas interlude, but the
success was not proportioned to the amount of energy
and willingness expended. The river proved too great a
handicap. On January 18th the battalion were relieved,
and a few days later moved by march route to the G.H.Q.
training area at Padua, where life was easy and pleasant.
Athletics formed part of the training, and a routine fea-
ture was a run, in the afternoon, uphill to the Monastery
and back. The battalion had only left Galzignano a few
days when the news came that they were to return to
France. At the beginning of March they left Italy, and

DISBANDMENT OF BATTALIONS 229

after a long train journey and a march arrived at Sous
St. Leger, where the division was reorganised.

The brigades lost one of their battalions ; and the 32nd
Battalion Royal Fusiliers was disbanded, the personnel
being amalgamated with that of the 26th Battalion. It
was a fate which befell several other battalions of the Royal
Fusiliers about this time. The 8th, who had fought so
magnificently throughout the campaign, ceased to be in
February. They had been closely and intimately asso-
ciated with the 9th during their service in France, and
their stand at Cambrai had been memorable. The 12th
Battalion, who had been linked with the 1st for over two
years in the 17th Brigade, also disappeared the same month.
Parties of this battalion went to swell other Fusilier
battalions : the 1st, 10th and nth. The 20th, the one
remaining Public School battalion, received orders for
disbandment on February 1st, and the personnel were
divided between the 2nd, 4th and 13th Battalions. The
22nd (Kensington) Battalion were disbanded by the
Brigadier who had been the most popular and inspiring
of their commanding officers, and the 23rd and 24th Batta-
lions were strengthened accordingly.

At the outbreak of the great German offensive in March,
1918, there were only fifteen battalions of Royal Fusiliers
apart from the battalions of the London Regiment.

CHAPTER XIII

THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE

It is strange now, looking back on the past, how little
people in England knew of the turn of events in the early
part of the year 1918. Sir Douglas Haig had pointed out
that the British Army definitely looked to the defensive ;
but his despatches were not published until long after-
wards, and the suggestions of a German offensive were
almost as quickly denied in the English Press as they were
expressed. At the front there was little ambiguity about
the position. Towards the end of the second week in
March the Germans apparently threw aside all attempts at
concealment. Troop movements could be seen from the
British lines, and German officers were observed a few
days before the attack examining the British positions
through their glasses. But, despite the knowledge of the
staff and the open demonstration of the enemy, the
attack burst over the line with remarkable suddenness and
developed with unexpected speed.

The Germans struck between the Oise and the Scarpe.
At the moment when the blow fell the extreme right
of the line was held by the 58th Division with the
second line Londons, with the 18th Division on their
left. This division also included a Royal Fusilier unit
(nth Battalion), and thus the regiment were repre-
sented in one of the critical sectors of the front by a
number of battalions. Further north, almost in the
centre of the Fifth Army front, lay the 24th Division,
including the 1st Battalion. Within the Third Army
area lay the 7th and 4th Battalions, the former being
still in the Cambrai salient and the latter on the Cherisy-
Fontaine sector. The 56th Division, with the first line

POSITION OF ROYAL FUSILIER BATTALIONS 231

Londons, lay north of the Scarpe, just beyond the main
area of the German attack ; and there were other Fusilier
battalions in reserve in the Third Army sector. The 2nd
Division were near Rocquigny, and the 41st west of Albert.
These two divisions included four Royal Fusilier units,
all of whom became involved in the actions of the German
offensive in Picardy.

Of the other battalions of Royal Fusiliers who were in
France at this moment, the 2nd, 10th, and 13th were in
the Ypres sector when the attack began ; but the two last
were involved in the aftermath of the Picardy offensive.
The last remaining Royal Fusilier battalion, the 9th, took
up station on the Ancre at a critical moment in the attack
and did excellent service.

To each of the battalions their own individual experi-
ence was of paramount importance, and these were days
when almost every hour held an episode of thrilling
interest. But much of the experience was characteristic
and typical rather than unique, and it is possible to form
some picture of this phase of the righting in France from

the detailed record of one or two battalions.
* * * *

The 7th Battalion, in the front line on Highland Ridge,
experienced a German gas barrage on March nth. It
began about 7 p.m. and continued until 4 a.m. the next
day. During these hours there was a continuous whistle
of shells which fell upon the support lines and battery posi-
tions, exploding with a very slight noise. The wind being
towards the German lines, the gas was carried back to the
British front line, and the men had to wear their gas
helmets for xour or five hours. At the point of exhaustion,
they removed the helmets only to fall a prey sooner or
later to the fumes rising from the ground. The barrage
was also put down on the following night, when the batta-
lion were to be relieved ; and, despite the risk, the arrange-
ment for relief was confirmed. The men stumbled along
through the gas. The night was dark, and the fumes of
the explosions made it darker. The road was pitted with

232 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

shell holes, and the men fell into them. Some, splashed
by the contents of the shells, were burned on the arms and
neck. Weary, bathed in perspiration, half stifled, they
stumbled on through the gun positions to the train of open
trucks, in which, as a sort of natural climax, they were
kept waiting long enough in the biting air to encourage
chills before being moved to the rest camp, five miles
away. Coughs, sore throats, sore eyes, voices reduced to
a whisper, were the portion of all ; but about 250 men
had to be sent to hospital. The battalion went back to
the Ribecourt right sector ; and, on the night of their
return, 100 boys joined them. They had come from Eng-
land and arrived after three days' travelling in trucks at
1 a.m. on March 21st. They had never seen a trench and
had no experience of actual war.

March 21st. — At 4 a.m. the preliminary bombardment
began. High explosive shells with trench mortars firing
with extraordinary rapidity made a deafening noise.
But the 7th Royal Fusiliers were incorrigibly cheerful.
' Nothing to worry about " was the report from A Com-
pany on the right . D reported a strange cloud approaching,
and this was soon of the density of a London fog. B dis-
covered that the Germans were attacking and had got
into the trenches of the battalion on the left. B beat off
the attack on their front by Lewis gun and rifle fire. The
S.O.S. rocket was invisible in the smoke. A pigeon in-
sisted on choosing the wrong direction. Runners at last
got through, and the barrage came down in front of the
front line. But the bombardment grew heavier and
heavier. B Company had to withdraw on the uncover-
ing of their flank. Captain K. Hawkins, M.C., the com-
mander, was killed at the entrance to his headquarters.
Captain J. Foster, M.C., was called up to battalion head-
quarters to arrange a counter-attack with C Company.
He was twice buried on the way up and knocked about by
the debris of explosions, but eventually he arrived. The
men from the left battalion began to drift in. The right
battalion's line was pierced, and the men flowed into the

THE TERRITORIALS' ORDEAL, MARCH 21ST 233

Royal Fusiliers' trench. A Company was ordered to re-
organise them and take the lost ground, and the situa-
tion was restored. An officer's servant had taken charge
on the left, and the line was organised and vigilant. At
the end of the day the battalion had held their own and
assisted to prop up a shaky position.

But this was one of the bright spots in a disastrous day.
The 4th Royal Fusiliers had been subjected to the same
almost unbearable bombardment. The front line posts
were lost in the attack which followed, but at 9.45 a.m.
the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers had restored the brigade
front. At 3.40 p.m. the Germans came on again. They
were beaten off by machine-gun fire in the battle zone, but
at 6.15 p.m. the battalion were ordered to retire to Brown
Support. They took up the new positions with the 2nd
Suffolks on the right and the 1st Northumberland Fusi-
liers on the left.

On the extreme south of the line the Fusilier Brigade of
the 58th Division had been heavily engaged and had fought
valiantly against overwhelming odds. The 2/2 Londons
were holding a long line, the northern boundary being
Travecy and the southern the Oise Canal, nearly 5,000
yards. Their strength at this time was 22 officers and
585 other ranks, an absurdly small body for so perilous a
length of front ; and, as three German divisions appear to
have been thrown against them, the battle had not opened
long before the battalion were overwhelmed. The marshes
of the Oise were thought to justify so long a line ; but the
water was unusually low, and the thick mist more than
neutralised the advantages of this obstacle. Travecy was
gassed, and no further news was gained of A Company,
stationed there. With the ten men of the trench mortar
battery, they numbered no more than 200 ; and within
an hour they were a besieged garrison, cut off from all
communication with the rest of the army. These men
held their original positions as long as there remained even
the ghost of a chance of success. A platoon, reduced to 10
men and an officer, held the southern end of the village

a34 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

until only the officer and a wounded man remained. Two
or three hundred dead Germans lay about their post
before they fell back to the central keep. The other
platoons fought with similar stubbornness until at noon
the remnants of all were concentrated in the keep.
This small body, perhaps 50 to 60 strong, was seldom left
in peace. Throughout the day and night and up to dusk
on March 22nd attempts were made to rush the position,
for they found time and opportunity to enliven the enemy
transport on the St. Quentin road, and a group of German
staff officers who paused on the road were reminded forcibly
that the little garrison still existed. At length, when
darkness fell on the 22nd, the weary and hungry men
had exhausted all their ammunition. They had used in
their gallant resistance 18,000 rounds S.A.A., 200 trench
mortar shells and 400 hand grenades. They had exacted a
heavy price, and the remaining 44, including the wounded,
were taken prisoners after two days' resistance to the
inevitable.

B Company and battle headquarters at La Fere stood to
their positions, though they, too, were cut off at 9.30 a.m.
They were still firing in the evening, and then, their ammu-
nition almost at an end, tried to fight back to the battalion.
At 10 a.m. Captain Houghton and part of C Company
attempted to defend the right flank. A quarter of an
hour later Captain G. C. Lees, the adjutant, and 40 other
ranks were all that remained of the battalion. With these
men C.S.M. Boag fell back to the Crozat Canal to defend
the battle zone. The 2 /4th had moved to the canal bank
at Fargniers the night before ; and, stationed in the battle
zone on the morning of the attack, they became almost at
once involved in the fighting. The Germans, advancing
with great rapidity, gained a footing in the eastern half of
Fargniers, but at 11 a.m. were completely held in the
battle zone, despite repeated attacks. The 3rd Londons,
who had now joined the brigade, were in the rear zone, and
two companies reinforced Fargniers and the Farme Rouge
in the afternoon. Quessy was garrisoned by a composite

ELEVENTH BATTALION'S ADVANCE 235

force, including the reserve and tunnelling companies. At
8.30 p.m. the enemy were still held, but the Fusiliers
were ordered to withdraw across the canal on the reorgani-
sation of the division's front. The retirement was carried
out successfully, without the enemy's knowledge. At the
end of the day, in which it had seemed almost hopeless to
attempt to cope with the situation, the battle zone had
been lost, and the Fusilier Brigade were weaker by
1,266 officers and men. The 2/2nd had been practically
wiped out. Their task had been quite impossible, and
they had fallen under its dead weight.

Even the nth Battalion in the division lying north of
the 58th agreed that the opening bombardment was the
worst ever experienced. They were at Caillouel when the
battle opened, on the right rear of the Fusilier brigade of
the 58th Division. But at 8 a.m. they were ordered to
the Tombelle Wood, and by midday the lorries had taken
them thither. At 1 p.m. they were ordered to counter-
attack and retake the switch line between Montescourt and
Ly Fontaine. The Germans were already at Gibercourt,
half-way between these two places ; and it was necessary
to check the advance. The Fusiliers crossed the Crozat
Canal to Montescourt, and then, with the Northants on
their right, swept ahead at dusk. The nth Battalion's
advance brushed away all obstacles, and a little after 7 p.m.
the battalion set about the work of consolidation. But
by this time the enemy were close up to the canal from
Fargniers to Quessy, and the work of the nth was inter-
rupted by the arrival of further orders. They had to
form part of a rearguard covering the retirement of the
14th Division on their northern flank and then to with-
draw across the canal to Jussy. The men marched back
with the experience, novel on this day, of having carried
out a successful advance.

The 1st Battalion had been in the line in front of Ven-
delles on March 12th, and five days later could easily see
the German officers examining the positions with field
glasses. But they were relieved on the following day, and

236 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

were out of the line when the offensive began. They
promptly moved to battle positions — A and B were in the
front line, C and D in the brown line east of Vendelles —
and for an hour were compelled to wear gas helmets.
Battalion headquarters had to be moved four times owing
to the heavy shelling, and the German aeroplanes were
very active. But there were singularly few casualties,
though Second Lieutenants J. A. Mears-Devenish and
L. G. Peaston were killed, and Second Lieutenant C. H.
Matthews seriously wounded.

March 22nd. — On March 22nd the attack was con-
tinued over the whole front. The left front of the 24th
Division after a gallant stand had been forced back
through the successes of the enemy further north ; and
in the afternoon the 1st Battalion, with the rest of the
division, retired through the 50th Division to the third line
of defence at Bernes. On this day they suffered more
severely, among the casualties being Second Lieutenant
R. W. Uphill killed, Captain W. L. T. Fisher wounded,
and Captain G. A. Jones, Second Lieutenants A. Kerry
and S. W. Wallis, missing.

The 7th Battalion had held the line on the first day of
battle ; they were now to retire. At 1 a.m. they were
ordered to withdraw to the support line and be clear of the
front line within two hours. There was no transport, and
what could not be carried had to be destroyed. Heavy
trench mortars and gas cylinders were made useless, and
the battalion took to the duckboard track. The next
morning the enemy advanced in small disconnected bodies,
while an aeroplane, flying about 150 feet overhead, took
stock of the new positions. The British artillery at first
showed no sign of life ; the German was all too active,
and the infantry moved ahead in perfect security until
they came within range of the Lewis guns. At about
11 a.m. the British artillery opened, and the German
advance was checked. At 8 p.m. the withdrawal was
resumed.

The 4th Battalion also were compelled to retreat on this

LOSS OF TERGNIER, MARCH 22nd 237

day. The Germans had made considerable headway on
the right of the 34th Division, causing that unit to retire
and thus exposing the right flank of the 3rd Division. In
the afternoon a determined attack was made on the 4th
Battalion's block in Shaft Trench, but it was beaten off.
The battalions on both sides of the 4th were driven from
their positions ; and the Royal Fusiliers, after holding the
enemy off for some time with both flanks in the air, were
withdrawn. The new front line was established about
7 p.m., and some time after parties of the 2nd K.R.R.
and 2nd Suffolks reported themselves. It had been an
unsatisfactory day, for the battalion had been compelled
to retire while they were still perfectly able to hold up the
weight of the attack on their own sector. Captain J. A.
Coley was killed during the action, but the casualties
were not heavy.

At the other end of the line the remains of the London
battalions fought valiantly to hold the Germans off the
canal. A Company of the 3rd Londons held out in
Tergnier against counter-attacks, and it was not until
evening that the village changed hands. The 2/4th were
in the reserve line, about a mile to the west, at Voeul. At
6.30 p.m. low-flying aeroplanes attacked the position, and
were beaten off with machine-gun fire. At night patrols
were sent out. Though the battalion had suffered so
heavily, they had lost none of their spirit ; and they
succeeded in capturing a number of prisoners, including a
machine gun and its crew.

The nth Battalion had reached their new positions
after the withdrawal across the canal, after midnight.
They were thoroi ghly tired out and very hungry, and
the cookers were the most pleasant sight they had on the
west bank of the canal. Everything else was sufficient
to suggest despair. The canal was an obstacle to the
German advance ; but above Jussy it makes a sharp bend
to the west, leaving the town in a small salient. The
German machine guns were able to enfilade the position
and make it untenable. The nth Royal Fusiliers soon

238 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

had experience of the difficulties of the position.
Shortly after daylight the German attack began. Field
guns and trench mortars were brought up, under cover of
which repeated attempts were made to cross the canal.
In the afternoon, after renewed attacks in strength, the
enemy secured a footing on the west side of the canal. A
fierce struggle took place on the towpath, but, with the
help of A Company of Northants, the situation was
restored, and the Germans were forced back across the
canal. Tergnier had been lost ; the enemy were across
the canal in that sector ; but on the front of the 54th
Brigade, which included the nth Royal Fusiliers, the line
was still intact at nightfall.

March 23rd. — The following was one of the most
critical days of the offensive. Both the Third and Fifth
Armies had readjusted their front, and the day was to
put the new positions to the test. The night had witnessed
another withdrawal of the 7th Battalion. At 8 p.m. on
the 22nd the battalion had begun to move back through
Trescault to the Metz switch at the southern edge of
Havrincourt Wood. The imposing name was applied to
a group of trenches, about two feet deep, with no field of
fire and without dug-outs. There was no cover, and no
communication. There was no water, no transport,
little ammunition ; and when the Germans were seen
advancing in the morning the battalion were ordered to
retire once more. Captain Thomas was placed in com-
mand of the rearguard, while Captain Foster led the first
two companies. They marched through the wood to
Neuville. Shells fell among the rearguard, but for-
tunately the casualties were few. The battalion at
length reached Lechelle. The trenches were poor. The
battalion had no rations. The water was cut off. There
was no reserve of ammunition. The Germans were seen
to be advancing from the south and from the right flank.
At this moment the 1st Artists Rifles and the 4th Bedfords
were holding a line east of Ytres, and the 7th Royal
Fusiliers were in support. The position rapidly grew

SEVENTH BATTALION'S RETIREMENT 239

critical. Heavy shell began to fall on the huts in Lechelle
where the men had been placed for greater safety. But
unless they retired, they would be cut off. So the bat-
talion had to fall back over the open to the Rocquigny-Bus
road. The Germans opened fire from the south. Shrapnel,
high explosive and machine-gun fire made the situation
almost intolerable. At last the battalion got through the
barrage ; and then Captain Forster sounded his hunting
horn, and the stragglers began to collect from various
directions. Major Whigham was evacuated with shell
shock. Lieut. -Colonel Malone had been wounded by a
machine gun. From the point of view of efficiency these
were very severe blows. Captain J. Forster, M.C., assumed
command. At 7 p.m. the battalion were ordered to fill
the gap between the 47th Division and the right of the
190th Brigade. The left of the battalion was moved to
the Bus-Lechelle road, when the enemy were reported
advancing on Bus. An intense machine-gun fire was
opened on the men, and touch could not be obtained with
troops on the left, where the rest of the Brigade were
supposed to be. A patrol sent out to Bus found the
Germans there, and did not return. Dumps were on
fire on every side. The enemy were seen to be advancing
rapidly towards the main road. The position appeared
to be beyond hope.

Many battalions in these days had the same feeling of
complete isolation, as though no one was fighting and
prepared to fight but themselves. The 2nd Division were
operating very close to the area of the 7th Battalion, and
to the Fusilier battalions included in it the retirement
of the 63rd Division appeared inexplicable and tended to
make their own position untenable. The central control
of the operations appeared to have given way. The 17th
Battalion Royal Fusiliers had been in the fine near La
Vacquerie in the third week of March. On the 20th they
could observe a number of German staff officers in the
enemy positions opposite their front. Hundreds of men
were seen entering and leaving the trenches in full pack,

240 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

and machine guns were being taken up to the front and
support lines. But the Royal Fusiliers were not left to
resolve the riddle. They were relieved that night and
went back to Rocquigny. On March 22nd they began
to move up again with the 24th Royal Fusiliers, the 5th
Brigade being attached to the 17th Division as reserve
troops. The 17th Battalion moved up to the Green Line
as the 24th moved back to it on March 23rd. At 2 a.m.
the 17th were standing to in expectation of an immediate
attack. Colonel Weston was appointed outpost com-
mander of the 6th Brigade. At 10 a.m. and again at
1 p.m. the line was heavily shelled. Headquarters had
already been twice moved ; and they were moved once
again in the afternoon, to the north-east corner of Haplin-
court. About 4.50 p.m. the Germans were seen to be
entering Velu Wood in large numbers, and a few minutes
later enemy shells began to burst all round and over the
back areas. The Germans were already in Bus.

Meanwhile at 2 p.m. the 17th Division had retired
through the Green Line, which now became the front line.
The 24th Battalion were astride the Bertincourt-Velu
road, but two companies were now sent to reserve positions
south-west of Bertincourt. The 17th Battalion at this
moment had already moved further west under the threat
of an outflanking movement from the south. At 10 p.m.
the enemy attacked the headquarters troops and the
remains of the 1st K.R.R. just north of Bus. The two
reserve companies of the 24th formed a defensive flank
north-east of Bus, and the attack was beaten off. The
troops fought in complete ignorance of the dispositions
of the 63rd Division, on their right. The Germans were
in Bus, but the 7th Royal Fusiliers could not have been
much more than 1,000 yards away, and between them
were the other battalions of the 190th Brigade.

The readjustment of the Third Army positions south
of the Scarpe required the withdrawal of the 4th Battalion
with the 3rd Division and the divisions on their flanks.
The retirement was carried out between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

FURTHER WITHDRAWAL, MARCH 23RD 241

The Germans were already in the rear of the support line,
but no casualties were suffered, and the movement was
completed without incident.

On the front of the Fifth Army the day witnessed a more
critical development. In the morning the 1st Battalion
took up positions in front of Monchy Lagache, with C
and D Companies in the front line and A and B in support.
On the previous evening General Gough had intended to
secure the main Peronne bridgehead by a line between
Vraisne and Croix. Monchy Lagache lay at about the
centre of the position, and the 1st Battalion were there-
fore looking forward to a stand. But in the morning
Gough's position was such that he judged it too great a
hazard to risk decisive action with tired troops against an
apparently limitless stream of advancing Germans, and
orders were accordingly given for a gradual withdrawal
to the line of the Somme. The 1st Battalion therefore
retired from Monchy Lagache, fighting rearguard actions.
Part of the retreat was covered by the 72nd Brigade, and
the battalion reached the Licourt position at night after
a very trying day, in which, however, but few casualties
had been sustained.

On the night of the 22nd the nth Battalion, as we have
seen, were still holding the left sector of the canal to Jussy.
But at dawn on the next morning, under cover of a thick
fog, the Germans forced the canal crossing and began to
issue in force from the town. Second Lieutenant Smedley
scouted right out to the left flank, now in the air, " and
up to the village under heavy machine-gun fire. This
highly valuable work was carried out with the greatest
pluck and determination. During the subsequent with-
drawal Second Lieutenant Smedley, although wounded,
carried his task to completion by covering the left flank."
Such is the official description of an action which gained
for this officer the M.C. But in reality this piece of work
was one of extraordinary daring. The fog was almost
impenetrable beyond a few feet. The battalion had only
moved back to Jussy the day before, and it was under

F. R

242 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

such conditions that Smedley felt his way to the German
position. No one, indeed, could tell, under such conditions,
where the enemy were. And when a little after noon they
became located, they were some distance in the rear of
the canal on the Jussy-Faillouel road. The thin line on
the canal became like a sieve, and knots of Germans
trickled through. The battle line became a scene of small
isolated encounters. Major Deakin and Captain Pearcy
were captured. The Germans had got round both flanks,
and penetrated through the patches of the line they
had obliterated. Captain Brooking for fourteen hours
defended the position held by his company on the canal
line against repeated attempts by the enemy to cross in
large numbers. The thick fog made this extremely
difficult, " and it was by his personal example and skilful
handling that the enemy were frustrated with considerable
losses. Eventually he was badly wounded, but continued
to encourage his men with the utmost disregard of danger "
until he was cut off.

The defence of the canal was most gallant. The officers
everywhere suffered terribly, fighting till they fell or were
cut off and captured. Lieutenant Knott killed four of
the enemy, and then, his ammunition exhausted, clubbed
another before he was killed. Part of the battalion did
not receive the order to retire, and when the fog lifted at
midday the Germans were in front and on both flanks ;
only a small party got back to the railway line. There
another stand was made with the headquarters troops,
until the Germans were within ioo yards and were again
working round the flanks. The colonel fought with this
body and escaped with the remnants. Sergeant W.
Brisby, M.M., gained his D.C.M. by his coolness and
extraordinary courage. He organised the party who
fought through the enveloping line and took part in the
last stand. Private Jordan secured the same decoration
for organising a bayonet attack when called upon to
surrender. By this means the remainder of his company
secured the freedom to get back to the battalion.

CASUALTIES OF THE ELEVENTH BATTALION 243

With various intermediate halts, the nth Royal Fusiliers
at length reached Caillouel ; but they returned to the
village in a very different condition from that in which
they had left it. They had held an exposed position on the
canal, and no gallantry could compensate for the handicaps
of their position and the day. They were now only 2
officers and 25 other ranks strong; and even when the
battle surplus had been embodied, including tailors, police,
pioneers, shoemakers and drums, they only mustered
8 officers and 180 other ranks. Yet the battalion were
full of spirit, though they were placed in brigade reserve.

The 3rd Londons on the same day were engaged at
Noreuil, and fell back to Chauny, where, with the 2/2nd
Battalion, positions were taken up for the morrow.

March 24th. — On the night of March 23rd — 24th the
battle front south of Ypres was the critical quarter of the
line, and the 24th saw the development of the disorganisa-
tion which had begun on the previous day. The 4th
Battalion again gave more than they got, and the con-
stantly repulsed attacks cost the enemy dearly. Luden-
dorff noted how exhausted the Seventeenth Army were
on March 25th, and the steadfast stand of the 4th
Battalion played its part in the general scheme which
achieved this successful result, for this flank became the
fixed point upon which the remainder of the Third and
the Fifth Armies pivoted.

The 26th Battalion (41st Division) had been brought up
to the front hurriedly on the first day of the offensive. On
the 22nd the division had entered the front line near Vaulx-
Vraucourt to fill the breach which was opening between
the 40th and 6th Divisions. The battalion were in support,
though one after another the companies became involved
on the flanks of the brigade, and fought very valiantly
against repeated attacks. On the 24th the position on
the Fifth Army front had changed so fundamentally
that the Third Army front was drawn back a much
greater distance, and Lieut.-Colonel H. M. Tuite was
killed while commanding the rearguard, who covered

R 2

244 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the retirement of the mass of the battalion. When
he fell an attempt was made to carry him back ; but,
seeing how near the enemy were and how inevitable it
was that the men should be captured if they stopped to
remove him, he ordered them to leave him. He was
heard of no more, and died in this way on the field of
battle very gallantly.

At the same time, a little to the south the 2nd Division
were also retiring. The 17th Royal Fusiliers were the
last to retire, after fighting a stubborn rearguard. They
passed through Villers and Beaulencourt to Ligny, where
the 24th Battalion joined them in position south of the
village. Further south lay the 23rd Battalion, who had
held the position on the flank of the Third Army, and
after fighting an engagement with both flanks in the air
had fallen back on Le Transloy at dusk.

The 7th Battalion at 5 a.m. were covering the main
Bus-Rocquigny road, and in this position held up for a
time the enemy's advance. Rocquigny was heavily
bombarded and subjected to machine-gun fire ; and at
8 a.m. the battalion fell back on Le Transloy, where they
were congratulated by the G.O.C. division on their fine
work during the first stage of the retreat. In a few hours
the enemy pressure on their position was such that the
battalion were ordered to fall back once more. They
retired as left flank guard across country through Flers and
High Wood to Bazentin le Petit. The village was reached
at 6 p.m. after several encounters with the enemy. The
battalion were now ordered to divisional reserve at Cource-
lette, and spent the night in a chalk quarry in the open.

While these movements were taking place in the Third
Army the 1st Royal Fusiliers were being withdrawn from
the line on the Somme front. At 7 a.m. they began their
march to Chaulnes, where they took up outposts for the
night. The nth Battalion were still not far from the
Oise. During the day they were in brigade reserve
behind the Crepigny ridge. To the north, the village
of Beaugies was thought to be held by the French, and a

WITHDRAWAL CONTINUED, MARCH 24TH-25TH 245

patrol of the nth Battalion were sent out to clear up the
position. The road rises sharply from Crepigny through
a thick wood, and it was difficult to see clearly. Captain
Wattenbach with five men and a Frenchman went out
after dark, and near Beaugies ran into a body of Germans.
At first it was thought that they must be British troops,
since no one at the time knew that the enemy had pene-
trated so far west ; but when the true state of the case was
discovered the patrol made their way back to report.
The brigade fell back, but the position was not cleared up
till the following day.

Still further south the 2/2nd and 3rd Londons, who had
taken positions east of Chauny on the previous day, were
attacked with great force after three hours' bombard-
ment. Despite their weakness, the attack was beaten off,
and the battalions were enabled to continue their retire-
ment, the 2/2nd to Abbecourt and the 3rd Londons to
Quierzy and Manicamp.

March 25th. — The 4th Royal Fusiliers were not engaged
on March 25th. The position on this part of the front
had hardened. The Germans had been fought to a stand-
still, and for two days there was no attack. But further
south the enemy had crossed the Somme and were now
fighting on the old Somme battlefield. North of Bapaume
the 26th Battalion were heavily engaged during the day,
as the Germans delivered repeated attacks east of Achiet
le Grand. But, under the command of Major Etchells, all
attacks were beaten off.

On the night of the 24th, the 17th and 24th Battalions
had assembled just east of Ligny Thilloy, and contact
had not been made with the enemy when they withdrew
and marched south-west along the Bapaume-Albert road.
Between Pys and Le Sars the brigade to which both
battalions belonged took up positions and met the German
attack with rifle and machine-gun fire. But at noon
fresh attacks were delivered. Grevillers and Bihucourt
fell. These villages were on the north of the position
held by the two Fusilier battalions, and their division

246 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

was out of touch with the divisions farther south. At
2.10 p.m. the Germans were pushing through Le Sars, and
could be seen advancing under cover of a smoke screen
on Courcelette. At 4 p.m. the 17th Battalion were
ordered to stand at all costs. But two battalions moved
off on the right, and Colonel Weston led a counter-attack
with about 40 men and drove the enemy back over the
railway. The 51st Division, on the left, were now forced
to retire. The right flank gave way, Major Pretty being
killed. The battalion, now at Miraumont, began to retire
along the main road to Beaucourt, which appeared to be
full of officers and men of different units. Another move
was made to a spot just south of the Ancre near Hamel.
The 24th Battalion had also fallen back to the spur east
of Hamel, and in these positions the night was passed.

The 23rd Royal Fusiliers had spent the night 24 — 25th
at Le Transloy. Their position had been necessarily
exposed, as their brigade (90th) had been detached from
the 2nd Division in an attempt to fill the gap between the
Third and Fifth Armies. But at dawn on the 25th the
troops moved westwards and took up positions around
Gueudecourt. They reverted to the 2nd Division at this
place, but their position was still exposed. The neigh-
bouring troops were well to the west of them, and, not
far away, units could be seen to the north and the south
retiring, though in perfect order. Brig. -General Barnett-
Barker (99th Brigade) was urged by generals and staff
officers of other units to retire with them. A 5-9 shell
burst beyond the village, and a little later Barnett-Barker
was persuaded of the uselessness of defending the village.
A tent had been put up for him by the roadside on the
west of the village, and he wrote the order to retire at
discretion at 5.30 p.m., stating that brigade headquarters
were moving back a mile. Another shell fell near by, and
he was killed at once, as he was leaving his tent for his
new headquarters.*

* The first commanding officer of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers in France,
Barnett-Barker was closely associated with the battalion until its

BACK TO THE SOMME BATTLEFIELD 247

At dusk the 23rd Battalion fell back to Eaucourt
l'Abbaye after an unsatisfactory day. They had stood
like an island in the wash of retiring troops, and at length
had themselves been forced to fall back. Lieut. -Colonel
Winter, as senior colonel, assumed command of the brigade,
and Major Lewis took over command of the battalion.

It is a remarkable fact that, though the 23rd were never
seriously challenged at Gueudecourt on this day, the
17th Battalion had been heavily attacked at Miraumont,
five miles to the west, the 24th Battalion were compelled
to retire from the neighbourhood of Le Sars, three miles
further west, and the 7th were outflanked at Courcelette,
four miles to the west. Neither Le Sars nor Courcelette
lay as much as a mile distant from Gueudecourt in a north
and south direction. At noon the 7th Royal Fusiliers
took up a high position covering Courcelette. The enemy
were still advancing in force, and the troops in front of the
battalion were forced behind their position, and touch was
not maintained on the flanks. As a consequence the
battalion began to withdraw slowly towards Thiepval at
2 p.m., covered by a rearguard, with the Germans pressing
round both flanks. They became involved in a heavy
engagement, and many men were cut off. At 8 p.m.
they took up a position on the right of Thiepval road and
held on until 4 a.m. on the next day. The anomalies in
the Third Army position, as reflected in the fortunes of
the Royal Fusilier battalions, appear greater than those
of the Fifth Army.

The 1st Battalion moved forward this day from Chaulnes
to Dreslincourt ; but, encountering very heavy forces,
they were compelled to fight their way back to Chaulnes.
The remnants of the nth Battalion further south were sent
to hold the Montagne de Grandru * and prevent the

disbandment. The conventional phrase that he was beloved by the
battalion was in this case literally true, for he earned and won an
extraordinary regard and respect from all who came in contact with him.
* It is a point of interest that on this position they lay only two or
three miles from Crisolles, where the 4th Battalion had halted in the
retreat after Le Cateau in 19 14.

248 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Germans getting round to the rear of the 18th Division.
The enemy had been seen earlier in the morning marching
behind a band to the west, on the left flank of the division.
About ii a.m. a heavy machine-gun fire was opened from
Behericourt, on the right rear of the Fusiliers' line. They
were almost cut off, and the Bedfordshires had to move
up on their right to cover their retreat. The nth Batta-
lion slipped away by platoons under a very heavy fire,
and, some French troops coming up, the Fusiliers and
Bedfordshires were withdrawn to the reserve. All en-
deavours were being shaped to enable these troops to
cross the Oise, and the Germans, in attempting to get
round to the rear, hoped to cut them off. When the
Fusiliers returned from the Montagne de Grandru it was
hoped that they could cross by the bridge at Babceuf.
But the Germans were found to be already in possession ;
and the troops were moving westwards when it was dis-
covered that there was a gap between the French and the
53rd Brigade with only a thin line of 75 's in position. It
was at once determined to prevent the Germans forcing
this gap and capturing the guns by a counter-attack ; and
the Fusiliers were put into the fighting once more with
the Bedfords. With a spirited advance * at 5.30 p.m.
Babceuf was retaken, after some street fighting ; and the
Fusiliers were then withdrawn westward to Varesnes,
where they crossed to safety over the half-demolished
bridge, and left the line for a few days. The battalion had
lost practically all but its spirit. The London battalions
of the 58th Division had already found sanctuary across
the Oise, and on this day held Quierzy and Manicamp on
the south of the river. On the following day the remnants
of the three battalions were formed into one battalion
under command of Lieut. -Colonel R. H. Dann, D.S.O.

Aveluy. — The positions on the north of the Somme now
began to take final shape. The 23rd Royal Fusiliers had
slipped back from Eaucourt l'Abbaye during the night,
and on the 26th were occupying positions near the 17th

* " A brilliant counter-attack, capturing 150 prisoners " (Despatch).

NINTH BATTALION ENGAGED 249

and 24th Battalions, close to Beaumont Hamel. At
Hamel the 17th and 24th Battalions held positions near
the final resting place of the 3rd Army front. On the
north, however, the Germans crossed the Ancre and took
Colincamps in the morning, but the village was retaken
by New Zealand troops in the afternoon. On the left
flank the 23rd Battalion were heavily engaged until
relieved by the New Zealand Division, but the 17th and
24th were not attacked.

Further south the 9th Battalion had now entered the
battle. On the 24th they had been at Auchy le Bois, and
on the 25th had been compelled to travel all night to
Albert. The position changed so rapidly in this area
that they were first ordered to Montauban, then to Carnoy.
The second order was cancelled, and they remained by the
roadside. On the 26th they had new orders to take up
position on the western bank of the river Ancre, in front
of Aveluy, and they were in line by 6 a.m.

To the north lay the 7th Royal Fusiliers, who had crossed
the river by the Authuile bridge and were holding the
eastern edge of Aveluy Wood. From the high ground
they could see the Germans moving towards Aveluy at
8 a.m., and the bridges were at once destroyed. An hour
later, troops of the 12th Division relieved the battalion,
who thereupon withdrew through the wood to Martinsart
and Engelbelmer.

From the hollow, where the 9th Battalion lay, the enemy
were not seen until midday, when they were observed
advancing over the high ground east of the river. During
the night the Germans made a determined attempt to
cross the Ancre but were driven off by Lewis guns,
machine guns and rifles. Farther north the enemy
succeeded in forcing his way into Mesnil and the eastern
edge of Aveluy Wood. To the south Albert was lost. At
3 a.m. on March 27th the 7th Battalion were in support
to an attack of their brigade on the railway west of Albert.
The Germans were prevented debouching from the town,
and the battalion were moved to the Bouzincourt- Aveluy

250 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

road, where they checked the enemy advance till late in
the evening, when they were relieved and left the line.

In this sector, March 27th again saw heavy righting.
At 8 a.m. the Germans renewed their attempts to force a
crossing, but were again driven back by the 9th Royal
Fusiliers. The battalion on the right were overwhelmed
half an hour later and were closely pursued by the enemy.
The 9th Battalion, with their right in the air, were forced
back. A platoon under Captain Beaurains held on until
completely surrounded, and then fought their way back
to the high ground on the west of the village. D Company
attempted to deliver a counter-attack, but the enemy
machine-gun fire prevented them reaching the river. At
5 p.m. the Germans resumed their attack from the direc-
tion of Albert ; and, the right flank being again turned,
the battalion fell back to the high ground in front of
Martinsart Wood, where a line was organised during the
night with the 5th Royal Berks on the right. To the
north of the 9th Battalion, the enemy had attacked in
strength with such success that the 5th Brigade were
recalled, and the 24th Royal Fusiliers took over positions
in close support along the northern edge of Aveluy Woodd
On the 28th the enemy attacked the railway embankment
west of the wood, but the 24th Royal Fusiliers counter-
attacked with two other battalions and drove them back.
The right of the 9th Battalion was once more attacked at
9 a.m., but the attack was beaten off with loss. On the
following day posts were established in the southern edge
of Aveluy Wood without opposition ; but an attempt to
establish a Lewis gun post down the forward slope was
checked by machine-gun fire. The 9th and 24th Royal
Fusilier Battalions on this front were relieved on the
evening of this day, and the battle began to die down.
The 17th Battalion, who relieved the 99th Brigade, were
not disturbed in Aveluy Wood, and on March 30th
suffered comparatively little in the German bombardment.

To Amiens. — During these same days, while the oppos-
ing forces about Aveluy had been fighting for a mile or two of

FIRST BATTALION'S RETIREMENT 251

ground, the 1st Battalion had covered a distance of nearly
seventeen miles as the crow flies, and considerably more
as an army marches. They were the last troops to leave
Chaulnes on March 26th, and they did not retire until
the Germans were pressing round their left flank. They
marched back to Lihons, crossed the Amiens railway and
reached Vrely, where they lay in support on the following
day. On March 28th they fell back once more for the
same reason that had compelled them to abandon Chaulnes.
Their left flank was in the air, and a local counter-attack
with the 3rd Rifle Brigade could not do more than inter-
pose a temporary check. They continued their retire-
ment through Caix, and formed a covering flank towards
the north-east for a French counter-attack. But the
Germans, ever pressing onward, were once more round the
battalion's flanks, and they marched back to Villers aux
Erables and thence across the Avre to Castel for the night.
The 29th found them on outpost positions on the high
ground between Castel and Hailles. On March 30th a
persistent rain fell and imposed a check upon the enemy
advance, though it did not impede the gathering of the
French, who were now arriving in great numbers. The
position even on this part of the front was approaching
equilibrium. Montdidier had fallen. The Germans were
established across the Avre and before Hangard ; but
successes gained by the enemy were now smaller, more
bitterly contested, and more dearly bought. At 3 p.m.
on the following day the 1st Battalion were ordered out to
protect the Hailles bridgehead. A few days later they
saw service in the Gentelles-Hangard line, but the tour
was without incident.

This last phrase hardly describes the projected attack
by the nth Royal Fusiliers on the Aubercourt ridge, north-
east of Hangard, on the evening of April 2nd. They were
fired on from the front and the rear ; and the enemy
barrage was so heavy that the attack was abandoned.
The following night they were ordered to counter-attack,
and after crossing ploughed fields in pouring rain by

252 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

compass, found themselves moving towards a vast gap.

A line was determined upon, and word was sent back that

at least another battalion would be required to fill the gap.

The Essex were sent forward and the position cleared up.

Arras. — Meanwhile an attack had been delivered on the

northern or pivotal flank of the battle front. Decisively

checked in this quarter at the beginning of his offensive,

the enemy on March 28th made a determined effort to

obtain greater freedom for the development of his offensive

by a blow in great force along the valley of the Scarpe,

though the attack extended as far south as Bucquoy.

Three first line battalions of the Londons and the

4th Royal Fusiliers were involved in this heavy battle.

In a message to the 3rd Division on March 30th, Lieut. -

General Haldane, commanding the VI. Corps, wrote :

' The repeated efforts, made in great force by a determined

enemy, to break through the left of the Corps where the

soldiers of the 3rd Division stood were repulsed time after

time, and where ground had to be yielded to maintain an

unbroken line, every foot was contested with a resolution

which can hardly have been surpassed in the annals of

the British Army. Had the 3rd Division, much weakened

by several days of hard fighting and nights devoid of rest,

not maintained an unbroken front on March 28th, it is

difficult to believe that the enemy could have failed to

attain his objective — the capture of Arras."

The 4th Royal Fusiliers, forming part of this division,
had left the front line on March 27th, but at 9.40 a.m. on
the following day X Company was ordered up to the Green
Line to occupy the position vacated by Z Company. The
9th Brigade lay below Neuville-Vitasse, and early in the
battle the brigades on both sides had been driven back.
Z Company had reached the support line of the first system,
only to find it already gravely prejudiced and under a
heavy attack. Captain Lord, M.C., accordingly formed a
defensive flank for the brigade with the company, and,
with the remainder of the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers
and the 13th King's, held the position against all attacks

GERMAN ATTACK AT ARRAS, MARCH 28th 253

until 5 p.m. The line being no longer tenable, they suc-
cessfully withdrew through the Green Line which, with
Neuville-Vitasse, now became the front line. Before the
withdrawal a platoon of W Company had been sent up to
strengthen both flanks of the battalion.

The remaining platoons of W Company were sent up to
the left flank to try to fill the gap between the battalion
and the 76th Brigade. But this brigade had been driven
out of Neuville-Vitasse, and the two platoons could not
gain contact with them. Z Company were then sent up
to form a defensive flank west of the village. They had
been heavily engaged all day and had steadily covered the
withdrawal through the Green Line. But they were still
able to perform a new and perilous task. Taking up
position in a number of shell holes, they successfully closed
the gap and enabled the division to present an organised
front once more. During the March fighting the battalion
suffered 13 officers and 193 other ranks casualties. On
March 29th the four companies were in the line and head-
quarters details in support. But the attack had been
definitely checked, and on this sector of the front no
further appreciable change took place.

North of the Scarpe, where the three London battalions
were engaged, the plane of fighting was not very different.
The 1/4 Londons, who bore the brunt of the attack, lay
a few hundred yards west of Oppy. The main defences
of the forward area were three posts, Oppy Post (north-
west), Wood Post (facing Oppy), and Beatty Post (south-
east of the village) . The first and last were overwhelmed
early in the battle ; and the enemy gained a footing in the
positions on the right and left of the battalion. Wood
Post, however, held out for about an hour. The prelimi-
nary bombardment had caused little damage and no
casualties ; and the small garrison of 2 officers and 45
other ranks inflicted heavy casualties with rifle and Lewis-
gun fire. A small body of Germans who had gained a
footing in the trench connecting the old and the new posts
were promptly bombed out. When Beatty Post fell the

254 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

enemy attempted to get round Wood Post from the right.
Attempts to get round the left were repeatedly checked,
But the right flank was more vulnerable ; and at length,
when bombs and ammunition were almost exhausted, the
survivors of the garrison, i officer and 15 other ranks, with-
drew, covered by the Lewis guns. Beatty Post had been
badly damaged by the German trench mortars, and
although it was overwhelmed by the attack in fifteen
minutes, the garrison had first inflicted heavy casualties
on the enemy as they advanced in great density through
the wire. Only 1 officer and 6 other ranks escaped of the
3 officers and 84 other ranks who had garrisoned the post.
Oppy Post garrison had lost heavily in the preliminary
bombardment and only 6 returned of the original 50.

The resistance of Wood Post saved the Marquis line
astride the Ouse valley from being overwhelmed. About
9.30 a.m., after it had fallen, a strong body of the enemy
were seen working up Ouse Trench towards the forward
battalion headquarters. Major F. A. Phillips, who was
in charge of the forward area, at once counter-attacked over
the open with 20 headquarters details. The Germans were
pressed back and a block established, which was held with
grenades by a party under Sergeant Udall. Second
lieutenant Hudson, with a platoon in Marquis Trench,
formed a defensive flank and held his positions with fine
spirit. Time after time during the day the enemy gained
a footing in the line but was immediately thrown out ;
and the defence of the forward line undoubtedly did much
to stem the enemy advance. The battalion lost 236
officers and men, 160 being cut off in the disconnected
fighting, chiefly at the three posts. But this action,
probably the most important and useful fought by the
battalion, deserves to rank high among the fine defensive
battles of this day.

Bucquoy. — In the last days of March the 10th and 13th
Royal Fusiliers had been brought down from the Ypres
area and had reached the neighbourhood of Gommecourt.
On March 31st the 13th Battalion went into the front

GERMAN ATTACK, APRIL 5th 255

line at Bucquoy. The following morning the Germans
attempted to rush the bombing posts of No. 2 Company.
The attacks were beaten off, and Second Lieutenant J.
Davis, though wounded, stood on the top of the parapet
and continued to direct the bombers. It was noticed that
during these days the enemy exposed themselves very
freely and provided good practice for the snipers. But on
April 5th the battalion were involved in a very determined
attack which the enemy delivered from the Somme to
some distance beyond Bucquoy. The preliminary bom-
bardment at 5.30 a.m. practically obliterated the trench
positions of Nos. 1 and 3 Companies. At 8.45 strong
bombing attacks were made on Nos. 2 and 3 Companies,
and the men were pressed back to company headquarters
before a counter-attack restored the position. About two
hours later it was seen that other battalions had not been
so successful, and the left of the battalion being uncovered,
the order was given to retire. Nos. 2 and 3 Companies
fell back covered by No. 1 Company's support platoon
under Second Lieutenant G. E. Vickers. The flank of
No. 1 Company being uncovered in the withdrawal, they
were at once rushed, and a desperate fight followed at
company headquarters, which were partially blown in,
several men being buried. Before the company could
extricate themselves a number of men were cut off. By
2 p.m. the line was reorganised with parties of several
other battalions and of the trench mortar battery, and no
attempt was made to press the attack home. A great
many decorations were given for this spirited defence, in-
cluding the D.S.O. to Lieut. -Colonel H. A. Smith, M.C.,
through whose skilful handling of a crumbling position the
neighbouring battalions were organised into an effective
fighting force, and the M.C. to Second Lieutenant J. Davis.
A little to the south the 7th Royal Fusiliers were in-
volved in the same attack. They had taken over the front
line positions near Mesnil from the 24th Royal Fusiliers
on April 3rd, when Captain (acting Major) P. L. E. Walker,
of the 7th Hussars, had taken over the command of the

256 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

battalion. The preliminary bombardment had cut all
communications, and at 10.30 a.m. the position was
already critical. The great loss of officers led to some
disorganisation, and, with the battalion out of touch on
both flanks, the men were overwhelmed. The Germans
had got through the line and were firing upon the men
from the rear. Captain Tealby withdrew his men, and in
the new positions inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.
Hand-to-hand fighting persisted throughout the afternoon.
At dusk the right of the position was taken over by another
battalion, but it was impossible to effect contact with
the troops on the left, and in the gap there were three
enemy patrols. At 4.30 on the morning of April 6th
further attempts were made to get into touch with the
Bedfords on the left. The adjutant and three men at
length achieved contact, and posted a Lewis-gun team
with a small party of the battalion on that flank. Major
Walker had been severely wounded, all the officers were
now casualties and a N.C.O. took charge. A counter-
attack by the Royal Marine Light Infantry, in which the
remainder of the battalion took part, recovered much of
the lost ground, and by 2 p.m. the position was partly
consolidated. It was held till dusk, despite the heavy
barrage, and the 7th Battalion were then relieved. They
had lost 12 officers and 205 other ranks in two days of
most bitter fighting, but in the end the Germans had not
appreciably changed the position.

The area of the Somme offensive bubbled up into action
at various points for some little time yet. But the worst
was over, though no one as yet knew it, and the centre of
interest had already moved northward to the area about
the Lys, where similar startling changes swiftly appeared
to wash away all the landmarks which three and a half
years' occupation had established.

The Lys. — With the same suddenness that the offen-
sive on the Somme had begun, the storm broke on the Lys.
Almost at once defences which had the prescriptive right
of three and a half years' tenure were swept away, and

THE BATTLE OF THE LYS 257

new crises appeared. In the original attack no Royal
Fusilier units were involved. But the battle had not been
joined long before the 2nd and 4th Battalions were both
summoned to the area. During the Somme offensive the
2nd Battalion had been engaged on the Gravenstafel
defence line, and they remained in the Ypres area until
the Battle of the Lys began. On April 10th they arrived
by bus at Vieux Berquin at 6.30 a.m. They were sent in
the evening to occupy positions in support of the troops
holding Estaires, but at 4 a.m. they withdrew, handing
over to the 5th Durham Light Infantry, who had evacu-
ated Estaires. At noon they took over the defences of
Doulieu with three companies. In a few hours the village
was the centre of brisk fighting, and the support company
(Z) had to be sent to the right flank position, where the
Germans were making headway too rapidly.

As the day wore on Doulieu tended to become the
apex of a small salient, but the men held on until 2 a.m.
of the 12th, when they were ordered to retire. They fell
back about two miles, and at 9 a.m. they were heavily
attacked in an isolated position. The 31st Division,
on the right, had retired ; and the battalion fell back
gradually to the village of Bleu, which was held by
the remnants of the 86th and 87th Brigades until
4 p.m. The British line had now begun to show gaps
under the continued pressure of superior forces, and the
enemy pushed through and seized Outtersterne and
Merris. The 2nd Battalion fell back once more to the
Vieux Berquin-Outtersterne road up to the Farm Labis,
where the left was drawn back along the edge of a wood.
The day had been one of very heavy righting on positions
which could not be maintained in face of the forces pitted
against them.

The Germans attacked heavily early in the morning of
the 13th, but were held up by the left post, which inflicted
considerable casualties by machine-gun fire. The catching
fire of an ammunition dump on the right front of the
battalion formed a useful diversion by causing confusion

258 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

among the Germans as they formed up in its vicinity. But
the attack developed very heavily against Vieux Berquin
on the right of the battalion, and the troops holding it
were driven back. The support troops on the right of the
2nd Battalion also retired, and the right flank was then
left open. At nightfall both flanks were open, Vieux
Berquin had fallen, and the Germans had passed the small
island of troops on the north and the south. The batta-
lion were withdrawn during the night, and on the 14th
arrived at Borre. In the fifty-two hours they had spent
in the Lys battle area the 2nd Royal Fusiliers had 15
officers and 324 other ranks casualties. They were true to
their fate in finding the hottest part in the battlefield ;
but their steadfast stand had played no small part in gain-
ing time for the deployment of reinforcements. Included
in the casualties were Captain H. V. Wells, Lieutenant L. B.
Solomon, Second Lieutenants H. Norwell, N. H. Willett,
H. L. Mepham, G. T. S. Rumball and F. J. A. Wilson. On
April 15th a composite brigade was formed, the 2nd Royal
Fusiliers forming No. 1 Battalion, two other battalions
making up No. 2 Battalion, of the 87th Brigade.

Meanwhile the 4th Battalion had also made their
appearance in this area. They had been brought up
hurriedly on April 9th. About 5 a.m. on the 10th the
battalion took up position from the La Bass£e Canal to
the north-east corner of Gorre Wood, coming under the
orders of the 55th Division until April 15th. On this
sector of the Lys battleground the troops had offered a
most stubborn resistance. The front of the 166th Brigade,
to which the 4th Battalion were attached, was dented
several times at Loisne, not a mile from where the Royal
Fusiliers lay ; and the men shared every bombardment
which was aimed at the troops holding the line. All day
on the 10th they were subjected to a rain of 5-9 shell. On
the following day the two left companies experienced a
particularly intense bombardment and suffered twenty-
three casualties. Battle-tried units in support were
relieved on the 13th, and on the night of the 14th the

FINE DEFENCE OF THIRD LONDONS 259

4th Battalion took over the left sector of the front line.
" All ranks of this battalion did all that was demanded of
them in a soldierly manner," wrote Brig.-General R. J.
Kentish, of the 166th Infantry Brigade, on handing over
the sector to the 9th Brigade, to which the 4th Battalion
belonged.

Villers Bretonneux. — Local attacks continued to be
made at various parts of the Somme battle-front during the
struggle in the Lys area, but the engagement that took
place at Villers Bretonneux on April 24th was a more
serious operation. The Fusilier battalion formed from the
remnants of the three London battalions of the 58th
Division had been disbanded on April 4th, and it was
three battalions who made their appearance in the Han-
gard area in the third week of April. This sector of the
front south of the Somme had a particular attraction for the
enemy, for it covered the junction of the British and French
Armies. On April 23rd A Company of the 2/2 Londons
wounded and took prisoner a German, who gave the details
of the attack which began the next morning at three o'clock
near Hangard Wood with a heavy barrage and gas bom-
bardment. At 6 a.m. the infantry attacks began, and
the 3rd Londons * south of the Hangard Wood held
their line all day in spite of the flanks giving way. The
2/4 Londons did not fare so well. The first attacks were
beaten off successfully, but when the attack was resumed
with tanks in the afternoon, the left flank was turned and
the battalion fell back. A little later another readjust-
ment of the line became necessary ; and the 2/4th took
up position in the Cachy Switch Line, east of the village,
continuing in a line of shell holes near the Cachy- Hangard
road. They had given way, though not to such a depth
as the troops further north at Villers Bretonneux ; and
battalion headquarters did not move the whole day from
the quarry east of Cachy. But their losses were extremely
heavy, including 4 officers and 203 other ranks missing.

* Lieut. -Colonel Chart was awarded the D.S.O. for his services on
this occasion.

s 2

26o ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The 3rd Londons were still in line when the counter-attack
at 10 p.m. on the 24th partly restored the positions of
their left flank, and on the following day they saw a
further German attack broken up by British artillery.
Both battalions were relieved on this day. The 2/2
Londons were not engaged, nor were the nth Royal
Fusiliers, who were in support to the 58th Division. But
the 3rd and the 2/4th played no mean part in an action in
which the enemy were first decisively checked in the
Somme area, and then pushed out of their momentary
gains.

XIV

SALONIKA

After their heavy losses at Loos the 3rd Battalion were
withdrawn from the line for a brief rest, had a term of
trench duty near Givenchy, and then entrained for Mar-
seilles. On October 25th, just a month after the battle
of Loos, they embarked for Alexandria, where they
remained about a month. By December, 1915, they had
reached Salonika. The troops found little to occupy them.
For the first six months they were in the standing camp at
Salonika, with the Bulgars some thirty miles away, across
the frontier. They were accommodated for some time in
tents and dug-outs in a small depression of the hills, west
of the Dehrbend Pass. The Lembet Plain and the bay to
the south made a very beautiful vista, and on a good day
Mount Olympus looked scarcely ten miles away. For work
the battalion had to turn their hand to the construction
of observation posts for the artillery and also to road-
making.

One or two air raids were all that gave a touch of excite-
ment to life. The only provision against aircraft at this
time was a few 18-pounder guns set up on improvised
carriages. On one occasion the enemy airmen had a
great success. The German airmen who crossed the lines
on March 27th just after dawn dropped a bomb on the
ammunition dump, which contained practically the whole
reserve stock. There was a tremendous explosion, and a
column of smoke rose high in the air and spread out like
a mushroom.

Another break in the monotony was the four days'
brigade trek which began on April 4th. Its real object
was to give the men some chance of stretching their legs.

262 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

They marched in shirt-sleeves, but without helmets, as
these had not yet been issued. The country is very fine,
but the brambles, which are alive with tortoises, made
marching the reverse of comfortable. Camp fires were
allowed at night ; and with a flute, two drumsticks and
a canteen lid, an improvised band filled the air with
music. Shortly after the return from this trek the
battalion, being among the troops selected to represent
the British infantry at the presentation of the G.C.M.G.
to General Sarrail, paraded for a rehearsal. In the midst
of this a wolf galloped across the front of the troops. Wild
wolves had been heard of, but this was the first one seen.
On May 3rd the battalion started on an eight days'
divisional trek. When they returned numerous kit
inspections were held in anticipation of the movement
north to the Struma. The hitherto accepted excuse for
the loss of any article — •" Lost at Vermelles, sir ! " — had
to be finally abandoned.

In June the battalion with the 85th Brigade moved
north to reinforce the 22nd Division in the Vardar Valley,
and as the aeroplanes then available could only fly between
8 a.m. and 4 p.m., the troops were confined to those hours
for marching. They had got as far as Sarigeul, on the
Salonika-Seres-Constantinople railway, when they were
ordered back to go to the Struma hills. Marching in
the hot weather was an almost unendurable strain, and
the 3rd Battalion have an imperishable memory of Whit
Monday's march. In spite of a long midday rest, the heat
had been so trying that many men fainted on getting into
camp. When the men reached a well near Orljak Bridge
there was almost a free fight for water. They at length
reached Tureka and camped around the village. Road-
making again became the order of the day. The Struma
lay a mile to the east, and in the dry weather it seemed
unbearably inviting. But some French soldiers had been
drowned, and bathing was forbidden. This order was
obeyed until, at a certain spot, cattle were seen standing
in the river to drink. It was also forbidden to cross the

LIFE AT SALONIKA 263

Struma ; but the sight of some wild ducks proved too
much, and some shooting took place in which the sports-
men did not trouble about a kit.

In the summer malaria began to make inroads on the
troops. Drafts reaching the country seemed to be
attacked almost immediately on arrival. Yet, in spite
of this scourge, the men worked well at the arduous occupa-
tion of roadmaking ; but it was decided to move camp,
for the sake of health, to the hills. After a few weeks'
stay there the Fusiliers moved via Paprat to Petkovo,
on the southern crest of the Krusha Balkans ; and the
battalion were given some five miles to prepare for defence
on the right of the French. On arrival the Petkovo
Valley was full of cattle, and permission was asked to
drive them behind the lines. This was refused, and the
cattle were seized later by the Bulgars ! The minor
operations preparatory to the entry of Rumania into the
war took place, but they were eclipsed by the advance
of the enemy armies into Greece. One morning
(August 17th, 1 916) the Bulgarian Army was seen to be
moving southward through the Rupel Pass. They
approached the Struma, and in this way began that long
series of minor exchanges which lasted till the end of the
Salonika campaign. The battalion for the most part were
merely spectators, being almost invariably in support.
At one point it was decided to clear all the villages to our
front, and the inhabitants were evacuated to the west.
As the French had received orders to evacuate them to the
east, they had a bad time until this matter was straigh-
tened out. It was a strange life the troops led in these
months. A sort of pigeon English had been invented in
order to communicate with the local inhabitants. The
exordium was generally " Hi, boy ! " and the peroration
" Finish, Johnny " — brief, clear and pointed.

On October 23rd the battalion advanced into the valley
for winter, and camped at Lositza. The Italians had
replaced the French on the left of the battalion, and the
men made some experiments with wine bought from our

264 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

allies. The Italians appeared to be always singing, but
the amount of work they got through was wonderful.
The Fusiliers were really startled when a soldier arrived in
camp wounded through the arm. They had been in the
Balkans for nearly a year, and this was their first casualty
at the hands of the enemy. They were now stationed near
the issue of the Butkova River from the lake, and the
Bulgars were on the other side. The mountain battery
used to water and wash their mules in the river until the
authorities decided to stir up the Bulgars. A patrol of
No. 4 Company was ordered to cross the river by a pontoon.
The Bulgars resisted, and Major Burnett Hitchcock, who
was second in command, was wounded ; a soldier who was
also wounded died on the way to the ambulance.

The Butkova Crossing.— On November 24th, 1916,
the attempt to cross the river was renewed. Two
platoons of D Company with two canvas pontoons lay
concealed on the bank opposite the creek. It was heavy
mist that morning, and the mountain battery could not
open fire till 8.30. The boats were lowered into the water ;
and two men, already stripped, swam across under heavy
rifle fire, with telephone lines attached to towing ropes,
covered by two platoons with Lewis guns. The boats
were pulled across by means of these ropes, and the troops,
moving up the northern bank of the river, occupied two
Bulgar trenches. Half of a covering platoon crossed with
picks and shovels, and began to organise the position.
Patrols were posted in the adjacent woods, and the men
remained in the captured positions until the afternoon of
the following day. At 6.0 that morning the Bulgars
counter-attacked, and in the mist reached the wire.
They were then dispersed. The battalion lost three
wounded in this small operation, and inflicted 15 casualties
on the Bulgars. One of the latter was taken prisoner,
and the Fusiliers recrossed the river after securing the
information they had set out to obtain. Another similar
raid took place on November 28th.

In January, 1917, the battalion crossed the Struma and

ACTION OF MAY 15TH 265

moved into trenches near Barakli-Djuma, where they
remained until May 17th. Their sector of trenches lay
about a third of a mile west and north-west of Barakli-
Djuma. During their first ten days in the trenches,
which were now close up to the Bulgar positions, they were
shelled at intervals throughout the day. In February
malaria began to make inroads on the unit. Forty-five
cases were treated, and 1 officer and 12 other ranks were
evacuated to hospital. It was not a good preparation for
active operations ; and their role in the readjustments
preparatory to the April offensive was to prevent the
Bulgars moving their troops to the Doiran sector, where
the army was to attack. This was achieved by a demon-
stration on March 2nd, when the battalion suffered five
casualties. During this month 98 men were detained
with malaria, and 58 were evacuated to the field hospital ;
and in April the number sent to hospital had increased to
80, including 1 officer.

On May 15th Major Villiers-Stuart, who had been in
command of the battalion since August 1st, 1916, was
appointed to command the 7th Oxford and Bucks L.I.
He was succeeded by Lieut. -Colonel E. M. Baker, who had
charge of the operations against the Ferdie outpost sector.
The spring campaigning season was almost at an end. The
growing number of malaria cases proved that the troops
must be moved to the hills if they were to be retained as
effective soldiers ; but the enemy were in a position to
hamper the withdrawal, and accordingly, in order to mis-
lead the Bulgars, an attack was made against the trench
system guarding the approach to Spatovo, the sentinel
of the Rupel Pass. The battalion were assembled at
6.15 p.m. on the night of the 15th. In ten minutes' time
the bombardment began, and five minutes later the
Fusiliers advanced, No. 4 Company being on the right and
No. 3 on the left. Under cover of the barrage, the men
reached the enemy wire, passed through where it had been
cut in the preliminary bombardment, and occupied the
front trenches with little opposition. No. 4 Company

266 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

captured five men and one machine gun. In half an
hour the troops had secured these successes, reorganised
and resumed their advance. Further trenches were
secured, and more prisoners ; and at 7.20, covering parties
having been put out 150 yards in front of the advanced
positions, wiring and consolidation began. Two small
attacks were made on these trenches at 9.45 p.m. and
midnight, but they were broken up by Lewis-gun and rifle
fire. Two hours later a more determined counter-attack,
supported by artillery, machine guns and a trench mortar,
was made upon the right. The Bulgars on this occasion
fought their way to the wire, but were then driven off
by Lewis-gun and rifle fire, leaving nine dead. In the
morning the enemy guns were found to be registering on
the new British positions, and at 3 p.m. in the afternoon
officer patrols made reconnaissances of the ground in front
of the new line. The next group of trenches was found
to be evacuated. From the beginning of these operations
57 unwounded men and 2 wounded prisoners had been
captured, as against a total battalion casualty list of 40.
Captain J. E. French and Lieutenant R. L. G. May and
2 other officers were wounded, and 3 other ranks
were killed.

On May 17th another strong patrol was sent forward.
A bombing encounter followed, and the Fusiliers retired
in face of superior numbers, having lost 4 other ranks
killed and 18 wounded. The new positions were now
finally consolidated ; and on May 26th the battalion were
relieved, and marched back to Orljak, west of the Struma.
On June 8th they relieved the 5th Connaught Rangers on
the Elisan-Dolap fine, south and slightly east of Barakli-
Djuma, and were employed on dismantling the outpost
line. This was actually evacuated on the 13th, and the
battalion marched to Tureka. The malaria cases increased
during the next few months, and in September they had
reached the heavy total of 159.

During October the troops were moved once more to the
lower ground from which they had been withdrawn in

THE STRUMA CROSSED, OCTOBER, 1917 267

May. The battalion crossed the Struma and occupied
Yenikoi on the 13th, and on the 21st Tupolova. But in
this case the Fusiliers had to fall back in front of superior
forces. This village lies near the Salonika-Constantinople
railway, and on the 26th a patrol reached Kalendra, south-
east of Tupolova. On November 1st Captain Woolfe led
a patrol into Kalendra again, and on this occasion encoun-
tered a strong Bulgar party. The Fusiliers had to retire
after a brisk exchange, in which they lost one killed.
Three days later an observation post at the Belica brook,
which runs for some distance west of, and roughly parallel
to, the railway, was cut off. Seven men were lost in this
mishap ; but one, though wounded, made his way back
to the line through another brigade. A third raid was
made on Kalendra on December 5th. This time the
village was found to be unoccupied ; but a Bulgar patrol
was encountered as the Fusiliers were leaving, and two
prisoners (wounded) were taken. These local raids were
the order of the day of many months yet, before the
troops were ready for major operations.

A memorable event in the new year was the inspection
of the battalion by the King of Greece on February 9th,
1918. On May nth Lieutenant F. Parker and Lieutenant
A. F. Balding, with a patrol of 30 other ranks, went out to
Cakli station to intercept a Bulgar patrol. The station
was found to be occupied by between 40 and 50 Bulgars.
In the fighting which ensued Lieutenant Parker was
wounded, and two scouts were cut off. On his return to
the line Lieutenant Balding had his party made up to
50 strong, and a search was made for the missing scouts,
but without success.

This was the last engagement of the 3rd Battalion in the
Balkans. The unhealthy season was approaching again,
and the advanced outpost line was being dismantled once
more preparatory to a withdrawal to the higher ground.
On June 1st the withdrawal to the summer positions was
carried out. But by this time the Germans had seriously
weakened our army in France by the March-April often-

268 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

sive, and the British battalions abroad were, as far as
possible, being quietly sent to France. The 3rd Battalion
were soon under orders. On July 3rd they embarked on
the French transport Timgrad for Taranto, which they
reached on the following day. At 6.30 p.m. of the same
day they entrained for Sergueux, France, travelling by the
east coast route, Bari, Foggia, and so on along the Riviera
to Cannes. There on July 8th they bathed in the sea,
and entraining later in the day, reached Sergueux at
6.30 p.m. on the 9th. They had been absent almost three
years in a theatre where the worst enemy was disease.

CHAPTER XV

EAST AFRICA

The 25th Royal Fusiliers arrived at Mombasa, in British
East Africa, on May 6th, 1915, and went at once to the
military post, Kajiado, on the Uganda railway. Half of
the battalion then went to Nairobi, the capital of the
colony, for two months' training ; and the other half, split
up into small bodies, was dotted about as outposts. Their
work was the protection of the railway line from raiding
parties, and up to the end of the year it never ceased to be
necessary.

Bukoba. — On June 19th this part of the battalion was
assembled and moved to the Victoria Nyanza in pre-
paration for a raid on Bukoba, on the south-western shores.
The boundary between British and German East Africa
cut the lake into two parts ; and Bukoba, lying within
German territory, was the centre of all the raiding activity
on the Uganda frontier. With ample stores and a power-
ful wireless installation, it was an important base of
German activity. About 400 strong, the detachment of
the 25th Battalion detrained at Kisumu, the terminus of
the Uganda railway, and on the 22nd sailed across the
lake with the rest of the small force. At sundown on the
second day Bukoba was sighted, and a night attack was
planned. Three Fusiliers were to have overpowered a
sentry at the landing place. But when at midnight the
ships drew in, a sudden burst of rockets showed that all
hope of a surprise was out of the question, and the ships
drew off and waited for the dawn.

The main attack was made from the north ; and the
troops landing there found themselves faced with the task
of climbing a steep, cliff-like incline. It was fortunate

270 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

that no opposition was attempted at this point. But a
vigorous resistance was encountered when the battalion
attempted to cross the rocky ground, at the southern foot
of the hill, towards Bukoba. The black powder used by
the Germans made the smoke-puffs clearly defined, and
outlined their position. But it was late afternoon before
it could be cleared, and then the weary men summoned
their last resources of energy and charged up the opposite
slope, from which the town was commanded. The sudden
darkness gave the enemy a respite, and at the same time
added a further burden to the troops, who slept as they
could without food.

During the final advance on the following day a heavy
thunderstorm imposed another pause on the operations ;
and when the battle was resumed it was a body of men
soaked to the skin, and with rifles out of action through the
downpour and the mud, who broke down the last resistance
and entered Bukoba. The wireless installation was blown
up, ammunition and stores destroyed ; and at sundown
on the 24th the men re-embarked and returned to Kisumu.
It was one of the few incidents which were wholly satis-
factory during the campaign.

Patrols. — The patrol work was nervous and respon-
sible. The Germans were full of initiative, and did not
hesitate to take risks where the objective seemed to
justify it ; and in these vast spaces a small force might
move for days without notice. In August, 1915, the
battalion had their headquarters at Voi, in the eastern
part of British East Africa, about fifty-five miles north of
the frontier. Two companies lay at Maktau, to the west,
much nearer the frontier ; and about half a company were
operating along the coast. A small body of mounted
infantry had been got together at Maktau, and about 50
of the battalion were lent to them. On September 3rd
a party of the unit marched into an ambush, the inevitable
accompaniment of warfare in such a country, and the
Germans closed in on the little band. Lieutenant Wilbur
Dartnell, of the 25th Battalion, was wounded in the leg,

LIEUT. DARTNELL'S HEROISM 271

and was being carried away when he noticed the serious-
ness of the situation. The badly wounded could not all
be removed ; and, knowing that the black troops mur-
dered the wounded, he insisted on being left in the hope
of saving the others. He was twice asked to leave, and
at length directly ordered that the men should abandon
him. When he was last seen the Germans were within
twenty-five yards of his post. He fought to the end in
defence of his fellows, and WctS awarded a well-merited post-
humous V. C . He had only 1 with the mounted infantry
two days, and it was but tw iys before the enemy party
was itself ambushed and left 31 dead on the field.

Advance to Kahe. — So the year wore on to the close.
The Fusiliers covered the extension of the line from
Maktau towards the German frontier, and kept the area
of their activity in a reasonable state of security. Troops
arrived from South Africa in January, 1916, and on
March 5th 450 officers and men of the battalion joined
General Stewart's column, which was to move round the
west of Kilimanjaro, while van Deventer marched to
meet it at the German town oi Moschi. After a long and
wearisome march, fortunately little molested by the
enemy, the troops arrived in the rear of the German
positions and marched into Moschi, which had already
been taken. After three days' rest the battalion moved
southward to take part in the operations against Kahe.
About 5 p.m. on March 2, h a brisk engagement deve-
loped. After a hot and trying march the men were having
a bathe near Store when suddenly shots were opened on
them. One of them bolted as he was, and encountering
the general and the colonel in a condition which hardly
made for dignity, was forced to give a report of the situa-
tion. The firing suddenly died down, but three hours
later the enemy advanced in force. Twenty times they
charged and almost forced their way into the entrenched
line, but at length they were beaten off with heavy loss.

On the following day another action was fought a few
miles away at the Soko Nassai River. The enemy were

272 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

entrenched at the defile where the river joins the Defu ;
and the Germans fought not only gallantly, but skilfully.
The machine guns were excellently placed and well served,
and the battle ranged from early morning to nightfall.
The Germans moved off under cover of darkness. Van
Deventer, who had taken Moschi, had now captured
Kahe station, and nothing remained for the enemy but
retreat.

To Handeni. — After a short rest the Fusiliers again
moved ahead, marching southward to the east of the
Pangani River, while other columns marched along the
railway line, and so cleared the richest, healthiest, and
most populous part of the German colony. The route
of the battalion literally involved " hacking through."
The bush was so thick that small parties had to be sent
ahead to clear away. Progress under such conditions
was neither rapid nor pleasant but, as speed was necessary
for the success of General Smuts' plan, the battalion
frequently trekked all night. They became so weary at
times that they marched like automata, practically
asleep. A sudden halt had much the same effect as the
checking of an express train. Food began to be short,
owing to transport difficulties. The fearful monotony
of it sank into insignificance.

On the last day of May, 1916, they reached Buiko,
where the Pangani runs south some miles towards Han-
deni, after a trek of 145 miles in thirteen days. The main
body of the enemy had passed through the village, and
on June 9th the British column started once more. They
now left the railway which the Pangani meets at Buiko,
and marched south for the Central railway. On the 15th
they left the river and followed the trolley line. The
following day they were at Gitu, to the north-west, and
on the 17th arrived at Ssangeni, west of Handeni, on the
great caravan road.

Kwa Direma. — On June 22nd the column started south
once more. Smuts' plan aimed at cutting off the enemy,
as had been done in South- West Africa, by the operation

BATTLE OF KWA DIREMA, JUNE 24TH 273

of a number of swiftly moving columns. The alternative
to envelopment was withdrawal, but the consummate
skill with which the German commander put off his retire-
ment to the last possible moment and compelled the British
to suffer every disadvantage of operating in such a country
dragged on the campaign to the end of the war. The Ger-
mans were first to be denied the use of the Central railway,

Sketch Map of German East Africa.

The faint dotted line shows the route of the 25th Royal
Fusiliers to the Rufigi.

and the Fusiliers formed part of one of the columns
destined to cut this artery. On the 24th, after a practi-
cally continuous march of over twenty-four hours, they
went into battle at Kwa Direma, on the Lukigura. They
attacked at 4.30 p.m.

Utter weariness made them intolerant of opposition ;
and before dark they stormed the position, Major
White leading A and D Companies in a fierce bayonet

274 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

charge. Among the captures were a i-inch Krupp gun
and three machine guns. The enemy were posted so as
to command a bridge across the river, and were taken by-
surprise. They had barely time to redirect the guns ; and
Colonel Driscoll, seeing that delay was dangerous, obtained
permission to rush the position. The battle was over in
less than half an hour ; and, despite the hail of bullets
which tore the trees and shrubs to pieces, the battalion
only lost 3 killed and 18 wounded. The Askari, who
fought with such remarkable courage, were unable to
stand the bayonet, and they lost 25 killed and 28 wounded.
Three whites were also killed, and 13 wounded. The
battalion were warmly congratulated by the general, and
their spirit after such a march was indeed wonderful.
Some days were spent at Kwa Direma, where mails were
received, an infrequent occurrence.

On July 7th the battalion moved south to Makindu, on
the edge of the Ngura hills, and rested there for a month.
The rest was very welcome, for this splendid body of men,
who, number for number, could hardly have been sur-
passed for physique in any army, had dwindled from
nearly 1,200 to less than 200. Long marches on rations
which were intolerably monotonous and short, and with
malaria almost invariably lurking ready to seize its
victims, had taken their toll. At Makindu the enemy lay
near, and the Fusiliers were shelled almost immediately
on arrival with guns removed from the Konigsberg. But
for the most part their stay there was restful, and some
six-months-old letters marked a welcome break in the
operations. On August 9th the Fusiliers assisted in
clearing the Ruhungu position, a region of hill and bush
country, of the enemy, who had turned it into a strong-
hold. Lying on the left rear, it threatened the communica-
tions, and the time had come to resume the advance.

To the Railway. — Every bridge had been blown up
on the line of advance, and weary nights were spent in re-
constructing them. The battalion marched by Turiani
and Dakawa, on the Wami River, and then turned east-

HALT AT KISSAKI, AUTUMN, 1916 275

ward to cut the railway on the flank of Morogoro. This
was achieved on August 28th, and within a week the
eastern terminus at Dar-es-Salaam had also fallen. Moro-
goro was some 350 miles from the point of departure of
the battalion ; but, though the railway was soon com-
pletely in allied hands, the enemy still remained at large.
They had escaped by an unknown road through the hills,
and the advance had to be continued.

Kissaki. — On August 31st the battalion marched south
once more in the central of the three columns operating in
the Uluguru area. They moved by a " zigzag, well-
engineered road cut out of the steep hillsides in pre-war
days at the expense of gigantic labour." * This was the
unknown road by which the Germans had escaped. The
scenery through which the men were now moving was very
beautiful, but the conditions of the march were even more
trying. On one day no rations at all were received, and
the strain of long marching in blazing sun on insufficient
food provided a heavy ambulance population. Some
days 5, sometimes even 10, per cent, of these hard-bitten
troops collapsed and had to be carried back. At Magali
on September 5th the troops had the satisfaction of de-
stroying the elaborate observation post from which the
naval guns had been directed, and three days later had a
small skirmish at Mwuha. Tulo was found deserted, with
every appearance of disorder. The battalion had a few
days' rest here, and some of the huntsmen filled up the
larder for the moment. But the columns had outmarched
the commissariat, and weary months of delay followed.
On September 30th the Fusiliers moved to Kissaki, on the
Mgeta River, there to remain for about three months.

Behobeho. — Despite the hardship of marching under
such conditions, the battalion were consumed with impa-
tience at the delay, and the only relief was elephant hunt-
ing. At this time the battalion had dwindled to about
60 before reinforcements arrived. Selous, returning on

* " Three Years of War in East Africa," by Captain Angus Buchanan,
M.C., p. 127.

T 2

276 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

December 16th from England, where he had been invalided,
brought 150 of these with him. He was sixty-five years
of age at this time, and this return to the front after an
enforced absence through sickness stands out as remark-
able even in a remarkable man. Its effect on the Fusiliers
was very noticeable.

Checked by the weakness in the ever-lengthening line
of communications, the column was now immobilised in
December by heavy rains. On January 1st, 1917, the
Fusiliers took part in the attack on the Mgeta position,
which in the end was almost surrounded. About mid-
night on January 2nd the battalion halted below Wiransi,
only to find that their resting-place was an encampment
of fighting ants. It is a striking testimony to the men's
weariness that, after much swearing, they dropped off to
sleep in the midst of their enemies. In this part of the
march the Fusiliers had been sent out to the west of the
main advance, and before dawn on January 4th they
turned eastwards towards Behobeho to cut off fugitives
from the main column. Very few were encountered, and
the battalion marched to a ridge north of the settlement.
The reflection of the sun from the white gravel proved a
terrible experience even for men who had long experience
of tropical suns, and sniping from the adjacent trees
made the position costly. It was while commanding his
company in attack on this occasion that Selous was killed.
He was a striking figure, and his loss was felt. The enemy
were well entrenched, and when Selous fell Lieutenant
Dutch took over the command of the company, and,
though soon riddled with bullets, continued to direct the
attack while being attended to. He was carried back to
Dakawa, and died two days later.

The position was taken. Behobeho was occupied, and
the bank of the Rufigi. But the rains were at hand. The
battalion were marched back to Morogoro, and then went
to the Cape for three months' rest. On May 12th, 1917,
this very welcome break came to an end, and the battalion
left Cape Town en route for Lindi. When the battalion

BATTLE OF ZIWANI, JUNE iith, 1917 277

had left German East Africa, the enemy had been driven
into the unhealthy region south of the Rufigi. They were
now to be driven from the country altogether. In the
strategy of converging columns, which had proved itself
successful, the last phase of the fighting would take place
in the south-eastern part of the colony. Columns were
striking from the Rufigi and from Kilwa, and the Fusiliers
formed part of the Lindi column operating near the Portu-
guese frontier.

Ziwani . — Lindi was reached at the beginning of June, and
on the night of the 10th the battalion, with three machine
guns, were placed in two lighters and towed eight miles
up a creek to the head of the delta by motor launch. " We
landed in a swamp past the enemy's lines and made our
way inland. By 7.30 a.m. we had covered about twelve
miles of ground, and came up behind and against their
main position in dense bush and bush-covered valleys and
ridges ; somewhere inside of all this they had a 4-inch naval
gun with which they used to bombard the town. They
knew we had landed, as shots had been exchanged with
their scouts in the darkness. The path we followed led
into a swamp belt in the valley between us and the enemy,
and from various hidden places on the enemy's ridge
machine guns and rifles opened fire on our advance guard.
We immediately took up a position in the bush with our
main body and called in the advance guard. Meanwhile
they kept up continuous rifle and machine-gun fire, and
we sustained a few casualties, but did not fire a single shot
in return. In about two hours they were all round, and
still our men lay low and silent. About noon they started
a terrific fusillade from all round ; and on one flank three
machine guns and a considerable force crept up within
thirty paces, under cover of the bush, and opened a
terrific fire. Our three machine guns moved at once to
that side, and engaged them at close quarters, twenty-five
to thirty paces, putting one of theirs out of action imme-
diately. For an hour the noise of firing was deafening.
Then, having reinforced the company nearest to the main

278 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

attack, we made a bayonet charge through the bush,
which caused them to retire, and we captured the three
machine guns. Two of them proved to be British guns
taken from our people early in the war. Next morning,
finding a better path, we pushed forward, only to find they
had disappeared from their positions, abandoning all their
stores, workshops, etc., and they had removed their big
gun through the valleys by a cleverly constructed and
hidden trolley line. They have vanished from the dis-
trict entirely. During the fight the bees came for us in
swarms and stung us badly. I saw some of the men
running round not caring a penny for the bullets, but try-
ing to beat off the bees." *

In this engagement the battalion lost 20 killed and
wounded, including Captain Robinson. It was his first
battle, and his gallantry and coolness were remarkable.
In the letter already quoted a strange coincidence was
remarked. In the action at Kwa Direma the Royal Fusi-
liers had captured three guns. One, a German gun, lacked
its feed block, and the substitute never acted satisfac-
torily. When the guns captured at Ziwani were being
examined, one of them was found to have the missing
feed block, which had been adapted to a British gun.

Tandamuti. — After this battle it was thought neces-
sary to wait until the column from Kilwa could co-
operate, and the battalion spent the next six weeks at
Lindi. Captain Buchanan established an outpost on the
north-west approach to Lindi, but the twenty-four days
spent on this work were without incident. In the first
days of August the enemy were holding a strong position
on the left bank of the Lukuledi River, five or six miles
south-west of the site of the battle of Ziwani and on the
Ziwani ridge. Its southern flank lay on Tandamuti hill.
The battalion moved out against this position on the night
of August 2nd, and came into contact with the enemy
about 6 a.m. on the 3rd. Two companies of Fusiliers

* Extract from a letter from an officer of the 25th Battalion pub-
lished in the Frontiersman, War Number, 191 8.

LAST BATTLE OF THE 25TH BATTALION 279

reinforced the King's African Rifles in the attack on the hill
fortifications. A gallant charge brought the men to a
dense thorn obstacle, and they had to withdraw under
intense fire. Some fifty yards away the machine guns
and Stokes guns opened a galling fire, and at 3.30 p.m.
the enemy's reply had ceased. At this moment, when
the enemy were retiring, the battalion were ordered to fall
back. The British had fared badly on the rest of the
battle front. The Fusiliers found Germans in their rear,
and had to fight a brisk skirmish to open up the way to
Ziwani. On the 10th the position was occupied without
opposition after the monitors Mersey and Severn had
heavily bombarded the hill.

Narunyu. — On August 18th the Fusiliers marched out
with the 1/2 King's African Rifles to attack Narunyu,
about twenty miles south-west of Lindi. They moved
north, then west, and then south, to take the position from
the west. Near the hill overlooking Narunyu the King's
African Rifles were heavily engaged, and the Fusiliers at
once formed with them a hollow square. It was as well
they had taken the precaution, for very soon they were
attacked from all sides. In this confined position they
fought for five days, with very little water, no cooked
food and hardly any undisturbed rest. On the night of
August 22nd they were ordered to retire, and did so under
cover of darkness. The battalion, as usual, were really
suffering more from the terrible climate than from the
enemy. On September 4th they took over the front line
at Narunyu from the 8th South African Infantry, who
were suffering still more. About six weeks later the
Kilwa and Lindi columns joined hands, and another action
was fought in the Lukuledi Valley on August 18th. In
this action the troops found themselves suddenly con-
fronted by an overwhelming body of the enemy, and in
covering a temporary retirement the Fusiliers were cut
to pieces.

In many ways this was a supremely fitting ending of the
25th Battalion's work in Africa. The enemy were at their

280 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

last blow. Six weeks later Von Lettow was over the
frontier, and before the end of the year the colony was
clear of Germans. It was the Royal Fusiliers' last action.
They had sprung into existence quite suddenly ; they
passed cleanly when the work was done. A romantic
body of adventurers, they desired no better fate. Colonel
Driscoll, their commander, had a genius for the sort of
warfare which filled this campaign. Swift in decision,
resolute, ingenious and experienced, he directed his
battalion with marked ability, and the 25th won for itself
great fame in the most trying campaign of the war.

Major-General Sir Sydney Lawford, K.C.B., who commanded

THE 22ND BRIGADE, AND LATER THE 4 1ST DIVISION.

CHAPTER XVI

THE HUNDRED DAYS — FIRST BATTLES

The German offensive had spent itself for the time being
at the end of April, but the British Army had been
seriously weakened numerically and strategically. Every
effort was strained to make good the grave impairment of
the Allied positions by the loss of the full use of the impor-
tant junctions of Amiens, Bethune and Hazebrouck, which
had been brought under the effective fire of the enemy's
guns ; and incessant labour was applied to the construction
of a new defensive system. Between April and August
these were the most important preoccupations of the British
Army ; and to such purpose were their energies directed
that at the end of the period over 200 miles of broad gauge
track had been laid, and " a complete series of new defen-
sive lines had been built, involving the digging of 5,000
miles of trench." Apart from these labours, the period
saw many operations of a minor character, and witnessed
a definite and significant change as the inevitable phase
of active defence approached its close.

Though the Royal Fusiliers delivered numerous raids,
in only one of the minor operations mentioned in Sir
Douglas Haig's despatches did any of them figure. Many
of them shared one experience which will not easily be
forgotten. An epidemic of influenza played havoc with
the troops in June. Thus between the 16th and 21st June
inclusive some yy officers and men of the 1st Battalion
went sick, and other Royal Fusilier battalions also had
a sick-rate that began to resemble the malaria inroads in
the Balkans.

The Lys. — In the attack of June 3rd, when the Mont de
Merris was captured, the 2nd Battalion co-operated by

282 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

capturing Lug Farm. Major Tower and Second Lieutenant
Stokes went out after dark on the night of June 2nd and
taped the assembly positions. The attack was delivered
by Y Company, commanded by Second Lieutenant W. E.
Stokes, at i a.m., and in twenty-seven minutes the capture
of the farm was signalled. Fifteen prisoners were taken,
and a considerable amount of equipment. The position
was consolidated by daylight, and was improved on the
following night, when the Lewis-gun posts were pushed out
eastwards to conform to the general alignment. The
small operation, which was carried out with great rapidity
and at a small cost, won the congratulations of the corps,
divisional and brigade commanders. The latter wrote :
" It upholds the finest traditions of your regiment."

On the night of June 14th another operation took place
in the Lys area. The 4th Battalion were still lying on the
southern face of the salient made by the German advance,
and the purpose of the attack was to secure better positions
across the canal. The ground was open, and the chances
of success depended upon the possibility of securing the
advantage of complete surprise. It was accordingly
planned to strike at night and without preliminary bom-
bardment. Dumps of material for consolidation and two
days' rations were accumulated across the canal in case
the enemy's barrage should prevent movement across it ;
and after dark on the night of the 14th the position of
the canal foot bridges was changed.

The 4th Royal Fusiliers with three platoons of the
Northumberland Fusiliers represented the 9th Brigade
on the right of the attack, and there were two other
battalions of the 3rd Division on their left. Zero
was at 11.45 p.m., and the barrage was intense and
accurate. It lifted after about eight minutes, and the
battalion advanced, X Company (Captain Mabbott,
M.C.) being on the left, and Z (Captain Lord, D.S.O., M.C.)
on the right, with W (Captain Attewell) in support to both
companies. Advancing in three shallow columns, wearing
white armlets, the men quickly reached their objective.

SUCCESSFUL RAIDS, JULY, 1918 283

On the extreme left of the battalion Lieutenant Brasher's
platoon was held up for a time before a machine-gun post,
but the garrison were eventually bombed out. One
platoon of Y Company, under Second Lieutenant B. D.
Robertson, with two platoons of the Northumberland
Fusiliers, attacked and cleared two posts in the German
front line. By dawn the objective had been taken and
consolidated. The line had been lifted forward an average
distance of 500 yards, support posts had been dug (by W
Company), about 60 prisoners and 7 machine guns had
been taken, and the battalion were in touch with the units
on both flanks. The total casualties were 3 officers and
94 other ranks. But the operation had been very success-
ful, and the battalion received the congratulations of the

divisional commander.

* * * *

During the month of July the 7th Battalion were
exceptionally active and daring in their raids. They were
still in the Mailly area, and their raids were instrumental
in causing the whole divisional front to be advanced. A
raiding party on the night of July 4th did considerable
damage in the German front line, killed 5 and captured 4
of the enemy for a casualty list of 1 wounded. Sergeant
West became separated from the main body of the patrol.
He had taken a prisoner, and the two wandered about in
No Man's Land. They were completely lost, but West
stuck to his prisoner and at length brought him in to the
Drake Battalion. West was awarded the M.M. for this
exploit. This and further raids during the month won
the congratulations of the G.O.C. division, and the front
of the division was carried forward about 400 yards. On
July 27th, when the new forward positions had been taken
up, the battalion received the following message : " The
divisional commander is extremely pleased with the good
patrolling work done by the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
during their last tour of duty in the trenches, which reflects
great credit on the officers and other ranks concerned. He
is also pleased with the manner in which this battalion

284 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

advanced their line and occupied the forward posts in the
vicinity of Hamel on the night of 22nd — 23rd, which was
also very creditable."

The men had never lost their spirit even in the darkest
moments, and this increased activity and growing success
on various parts of the front indicated the approach to
equilibrium through the waning of the German superiority.
Some excitement was caused when, on the 29th July, the
C.O. of the 2nd Battalion received a wire stating that the
French had captured 500,000 prisoners and 600 guns.
The battalion were enjoying a concert during a period of
training. No one knew whence the news had come, but
it seemed appropriate and obviously acceptable, so it was
read out. It was discovered later that the signallers had
been sending a test wire ! But these were days when
such stories appeared good enough to be true. General
Mangin had delivered the great counter-attack which,
threatening the German communications in the Marne
salient, compelled a retreat under risky conditions. The
plans for the attack destined to disengage Amiens were
soon to be put to the test.

The Battle of Amiens. — The share of the Royal
Fusiliers in the great battle that first, beyond all ambi-
guity, marked the turn of the tide, is apt to be overlooked,
sharing in the quite undeserved criticism that has been
applied to the work of the 3rd Corps on this occasion.
By an unfortunate coincidence the Germans anticipated
the advance of the 3rd Corps, and the nth Royal Fusiliers
lost very heavily in this undesigned prelude to the Fourth
Army advance. A reorganisation of the sector north of
the Somme was in progress in the early morning of
August 6th when the Germans suddenly attacked. This
part of the front had been the scene of a striking Australian
victory on July 29th, and the fresh 27th Wurttemberg
Division had been brought down from the Lille area to
restore the moral of the neighbouring troops by a sharp
local attack. To the normal difficulties of a relief were
added those of a side-stepping relief. The Bedfordshires

GERMAN A1TACK, AUGUST 6th 285

were relieved by troops of the 58th Division, and they
themselves were engaged in relieving the East Surreys
lying to the north. The attack in such circumstances was
assured of success ; and, in fact, it penetrated about half
a mile into the British positions and secured 200 prisoners.
This was not the worst of the attack, for it had changed
the starting point of the infantry and also the artillery
programme for August 8th. An attempt was therefore
made to restore the original situation, though even this
prejudiced the battle of Amiens by exhausting troops who
were to have taken part in the advance.

During the night of 6th — 7th a persistent drizzle fell,
and the trenches were filled with mud. The counter-
attack was delivered by two companies of the nth Royal
Fusiliers, north of the Bray road, with one company each
of the Bedfords and Northants, of the same brigade.
But misfortune continued faithful. B Company, on the
left of the nth Battalion, could not locate the unit on their
left, and the gap of 300 yards in this part of the front had
to be filled up by two platoons. The whole plan was
vitiated by this mischance. When the barrage opened at
4.40 a.m. the company had 300 yards of front more than
had been allocated to them. An attempt to advance with
two platoons proved a failure, and the men returned
without taking the objective. In effect they filled the
role which had been given to a company of the East
Surreys on the left. D Company, in command of Captain
P. Baker, had meanwhile captured their objective.

But the barrage died down at 5.10 a.m., and at 6 o'clock
four attacks were delivered by the Wurttemberg troops.
All of these were beaten off, but one platoon, having ex-
hausted their bombs, had to fall back. The enemy gained
a footing in Cloncurry Trench, the German front line,
and began to bomb down it. Private Maloney's Lewis
gun had been knocked out by a direct hit from a trench
mortar ; but after a search he discovered another, and
promptly bringing it into action, checked the enemy
advance. Both flanks of D Company were now in the air,

286 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

but Captain Baker held on until all his bombs were
exhausted and only three men remained. He was
wounded, but crawled back and reorganised Croydon
Trench. Lieutenant Wixcey with two platoons of B
Company pushed up this trench shortly afterwards and
recaptured part of Cloncurry Trench. They were working
north and south when another heavy German attack at
3 p.m., after a sharp fight, pushed them back. The
brigade had decided to make a carefully prepared counter-
attack in the evening, but before this could be rearranged
officers on the spot delivered a counter-attack, which com-
pletely exhausted the battalion ; and at the end of the day
they had to fall back to the original positions. Many were
the acts of gallantry in this action. Captain Baker was
awarded the M.C., as also were Second Lieutenants
Measures and Ross for their courage and skill. Private
Maloney secured the M.M. But the net effect of the
gallantry and skill was not to be measured by positions.
The battalion inflicted heavy loss on the enemy, and
thus had their part in the success of the morrow
without the glamour which that victory threw over the
battle.

The 9th Royal Fusiliers were lent with their brigade
to the 1 8th Division to take the place of the 54th Brigade,
who, as we have seen, had been badly handled on the two
preceding days. They had had no time for preliminary
reconnaissance of the ground, and the Somme Valley, with
its gashes of deep ravines, was pre-eminently an area for
careful study. The early morning was very misty, and
with the night's gas bombardment this proved an addi-
tional handicap. The tanks were rather effectively mixed
up through these conditions, and the 9th Battalion had to
attack without them. The battalion were assembled on
the starting line by 3.30 a.m., but three officers and the
bulk of two platoons had been placed hors de combat by
the heavy shelling while moving up. Indeed, the enemy
expected a counter-attack after their advance on the 6th,
and the element of surprise was unfortunately lacking on

ADVANCE ON AUGUST 8th 287

the sector which most needed some adventitious counter-
poise to its inherent difficulties.

Zero was at 4.20 a.m., and the barrage fell ten minutes
earlier. At this moment the men could see only about
ten yards ahead owing to the mist. Yet in these condi-
tions A and B Companies promptly gained the first objec-
tive, and D and C passed through to the second battalion
objective, i.e., the first objective for the day. The 53rd
Brigade then passed through towards their objective,
assisting in their stride in establishing the units on the first.
But a prompt German counter-attack drove them back,
and in the afternoon the 9th Battalion found that they
were holding the front line. This was a little to the west
of the first objective of the day ; and in this position the
battalion consolidated in touch with troops on the right,
and eventually with the 5th Royal West Kents on the left.
They had lost 6 officers, including Lieutenant W. E.
Hill and Second Lieutenants R. T. Eagar and A. Nicholson,
killed, and 350 other ranks ; but they had captured 300
prisoners, 30 machine guns, and 8 trench mortars. Taking
into account the extraordinarily difficult conditions under
which they attacked, this must be held a very creditable
performance.

To the south the 174th Brigade (58th Division) played
a similar role to that of the nth Royal Fusiliers, and the
173rd or Fusilier Brigade went through towards the
second objective of the day. The three battalions were
all engaged in this phase of the battle. The thick fog
nearer the river caused the 3rd Londons to lose direction,
and they became involved in fighting before the 174th
Brigade had gained their objective. Battalion head-
quarters pushed forward and attacked the quarry beyond
Malard Wood. After a sharp struggle they captured
four machine guns and over 70 prisoners. But when the
first objective had been captured by the 174th Brigade, the
3rd Londons were already too weak to go further. The
2/4th, on the left of the 3rd Londons, fared no better ; and
a final attack of the 3rd, 2/4 and 2/2 Londons in the

288 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

evening, though it carried them on to the Chipilly Spur
could not achieve success. An outpost line was taken
up during the night. On the following day the attack
was renewed. At 5.40 p.m. the three battalions moved
forward again, and captured Celestine Wood and Chipilly
Spur, north of Chipilly. They were relieved on the 10th,
by which time they had lost 680 officers and men. On
this day, while the 3rd Londons were in close support,
Lieut. -Colonel S. E. Saunders, M.C., was severely wounded,
a serious loss to the battalion.

Morlancourt fell on the 9th, and the 9th Royal Fusiliers
moved to the east of the village to consolidate. At
10 p.m. on August 10th they too were relieved and moved
back to the old British front and support lines north-west
of Morlancourt.

Further action on this part of the front was of a local
character. The 9th Battalion on August 13th took part
in a useful little engagement, which gave their division a
foothold on the highest part (Hill 105) of the ridge which
rises above Morlancourt, Dernancourt and Meaulte. The
attack was delivered at 4.55 a.m., covered by a heavy
barrage, and was immediately successful. But a German
counter-attack drove back the 7th Sussex on the Fusiliers'
right, and the 9th Battalion, retaining their positions,
swung round their right flank to the original front line,
where they achieved contact with the Sussex. This small
engagement cost the 9th Battalion only four casualties,
all wounded.

The Battle of Bapaume. — The resistance of the
enemy in front of the Fourth Army having stiffened, Sir
Douglas Haig determined to transfer the front of attack
to the sector north of the Somme, where an attack seemed
unexpected, and " it was arranged that on the morning of
the 2 1st August a limited attack should be launched
north of the Ancre to gain the general line of the Arras-
Albert railway, on which it was correctly assumed that
the enemy's main line of resistance was sited."* The

* Despatch.

CAPTURE OF ABLAINZEVILLE, AUGUST 2ist 289

forward positions across the Ancre, including Beaumont-
Hamel, Serre, Puisieux and Bucquoy, had been evacuated
a week before. The 13th and 10th Royal Fusiliers formed
up in the newly recovered ground ; and at 4.55 a.m. the
13th, lying south-west of Bucquoy, for a loss of only 13
captured their objectives, which consisted of part of the
high ground east of Bucquoy and Ablainzeville.

The 10th Royal Fusiliers had a more eventful day, though
their right companies, B and D, reached their objectives
and consolidated within thirty-five minutes. B's role
was to move south of the village of Ablainzeville, followed
by D, and assist in cutting off the village from the east.
The heavy ground mist enabled the men to assemble un-
observed, and very little opposition was encountered. C and
A Companies pushed through the village with eight tanks,
C on the left and A on the right. The latter also had a
very quiet journey, and cleared their part of the village
without a casualty. C, on the other hand, was under
machine-gun fire from the very beginning. The starting
point lay so near the village that the north-west corner
escaped the barrage. But after a brisk fight, assisted by
the tanks, the village was completely cleared, 56 prisoners
(including 2 officers), six machine guns, and one trench
mortar were captured.

In the second stage of the advance the fog proved a
greater handicap than in the first phase. The leading
brigades of the 63rd Division who passed through to
continue the advance became confused. It was difficult
for the platoons, in artillery formation, to keep in touch.
The tanks lost their bearings, and when the brigades
re-formed for attack their barrage had stopped, and they
were held up. The 7th Royal Fusiliers with the 190th
Brigade passed through the leading brigades, and with
some difficulty were able to consolidate positions on a
line parallel with the southern edge of Logeast Wood.
But this was not achieved until soon after dark. Mean-
while the 23rd Royal Fusiliers, starting at zero from before
Ayette, advanced about 2,000 yards to Aerodrome Trench.

2Q0 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

At this point the 3rd Division passed through the 2nd,
and with them went the 4th Royal Fusiliers. The
battalion had already suffered heavily on the way up to
assembly positions when in a burst of shell fire they lost
their CO., Lieut. -Colonel Hartley, severely wounded,
another officer and 50 other ranks. The whole brigade,
moreover, found the greatest difficulty in finding their
positions in the Blue Line, secured by the 2nd Division.
By a diligent use of the compass they at length arrived,
after reducing a few machine-gun posts on the way.
For the next stage of the advance the 4th Battalion were
in the rear of the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, the right
battalion of the 3rd Division.

Very little opposition was encountered in reaching the
railway, but in the 2,500 yards between it and the Blue
Line the utmost difficulty was experienced in keeping
touch with the other units. The 4th Battalion com-
pletely lost the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers, and
advancing by compass, marched direct upon the railway,
which they reached before the " leading " battalion.
They were then lying some 2,000 yards east of the north-
east corner of Logeast Wood. But the 63rd Division
had not come up on their right. The right front (Y,
Captain Royle, M.C.) and support (Z, Lieutenant Evans)
companies both lost their commanders ; and Lieutenant
F. A. Hicks, M.C. was also killed. By 10.20 a.m. the
Northumberland Fusiliers were signalling that the railway
crossings were fit for whippets. The position was estab-
lished and consolidated, with the Northumberlands* right
flank drawn back from the railway towards Logeast Wood.

The 4th Royal Fusiliers were now drawn back to
support. During the following day several attacks were
delivered on the new positions, and shortly after noon
the Germans pushed into the gap between the right of
the 3rd Division and the left of the 63rd Division. The
7th Royal Fusiliers found their position turned, and there
was a fierce struggle before the gap was filled and the
original line restored. The day was very hot, and the

THE CROSSING OF THE ANCRE 291

7th Battalion suffered much from lack of water and small
arm ammunition. The expenditure of ammunition was
very heavy, and the arrangements for supply by aeroplane
did not work very well. Some was dropped in No Man's
Land, some in Logeast Wood, where it could not be found.
At one point the battalion had to borrow 3,000 rounds
from the Bedfords, and at 6 p.m. the brigade supplied
20,000 rounds.

Of the heavy casualties suffered in these two days
the bulk in the 2nd Division units were caused by
gas. The 17th Royal Fusiliers, who were in support,
had 92 casualties from this cause, and the 23rd Battalion
lost 14 officers and 369 men. Gas does not seem to have
proved so terrible a weapon to other units ; and this, with
the strange differences of movement and achievement
among the troops, goes to round off an attack which,
though successful in the main, reads like failure in the
detailed experience of many of the battalions who carried
it out.

But on this day, August 22nd, the attack was extended
according to plan. The Third Army advance had brought
their front forward to positions before Achiet le Grand and
along the north bank of the Ancre. The action of August
22nd on the Fourth Army front was designed to bring
forward their left in preparation for a joint attack of both
armies on August 23rd. The enemy had to be driven out
of his positions in and around Albert, and the nth Royal
Fusiliers were involved in the capture of the ground
between Meaulte and Albert. They had first to cross the
Ancre, and the trestle bridges made by the R.E. were
placed in position on the night of August 21st. It was
bright moonlight, and many of the men seemed to regard
the undertaking as a joke. As a consequence the atten-
tion of the enemy was aroused, and the men came under a
heavy machine-gun fire. Private F. G. Hughes, finding
one of the bridges could not be placed for this reason,
jumped into the river and pulled the bridge into position,
despite the concentrated fire from three machine guns.

u a

292 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

The patrols anticipated the barrage, and seizing * a foot-
hold on the Albert-Meaulte road above Vivier Mill,
enabled the nth Battalion to cross the Ancre and form
up on this road. In front of them lay a belt of marshy
ground which, outside a few paths, was quite impassable-
Frequently the men had to wade with the water up to
their hips, and Sergeant Ryan, seeing two platoons held
up in the marsh, went back under an intense fire and
guided them by a path to the German position. C.S.M.
Balchin reorganised his company under similar conditions,
and headed the assault on the first position. Wounded
men were in danger of drowning ; but the gallantry of
Private C. Smith, in charge of the stretcher-bearers, saved
many by repeatedly crossing the treacherous ground,
despite the enemy's fire. The battalion, through these
and other acts of cool courage, carried their front to about
500 yards east of Bellevue Farm, with their left bent back
to Black Wood. Until the brigade on their left got
through Albert no further progress could be made, and
the battalion were relieved in these positions.

A little to the south the 9th Royal Fusiliers went for-
ward on a front of 1,000 yards to a depth of 2,500 yards,
keeping pace on their left with the 5th Royal Berks, who
captured and cleared up Meaulte. The 9th Royal Fusiliers,
with an easier task, overcame the resistance in their front
readily, and for a total casualty list of 83 captured 100
prisoners, twelve machine guns and four trench mortars.
Unfortunately among the casualties were Lieutenant H. A.
Kilmister, Second Lieutenant L. F. Wade, and Second
Lieutenant A. H. King killed ; and the experience of the
day proved the need of officers.

Bullecourt. — On the following day the main attack
was launched as far north as Mercatel, and by the end of
the month the British positions on this front had changed
remarkably. The 1st, 2nd and 4th Londons — 56th
Division — had in front of them a region of country that

* " This very well-executed enterprise " (" The Story of the Fourth
Army," p. 76).

FIGHTING AT BULLECOURT, AUGUST, 1918 293

had never yielded much to the repeated assaults of both
British and German troops. At the beginning of the
German offensive the front had only been some four and a
half miles to the east. Over a week's hard fighting was
now necessitated to carry the positions over the five miles,
including Bullecourt. On the 23rd the 4th Londons were
in the centre of the brigade who carried Boyelles and the
ground up to Summit Trench, 1,000 yards west of Croi-
silles. Less than 3,000 yards to the east lay the Hinden-
burg line, and the 1st Londons pitted B and D Companies
against this obstacle on August 24th. But five belts of
wire lay in front of them, and the attack was unsuccessful.
Fooley Trench (south-west of Fontaine les Croisilles) and
Fooley Post provided the objectives for several further
abortive attacks. The 1st Londons made an attempt on
the 25th, but without success. They were relieved on the
following day by the 2nd Londons, who, attacking due
east towards the Hindenburg line, captured and cleared
Fooley Trench, capturing twelve machine guns and four
prisoners. The wounded still remaining in No Man's Land
from an earlier counter-attack were collected under fire
by a party under Second Lieutenant G. H. Merrikin, who
lost his life while so doing. Croisilles, which formed the
objective of another unit this day, was as yet unreduced,
and the battalion came under heavy enfilade fire from the
right, the northern corner of the village. But they fought
on against a heavy resistance up Sensee Avenue, when,
reduced to 2 officers and 63 other ranks, they were ordered
to stand and abandon the attempt to advance further^
They consolidated with a line of strong posts. In this
battle they lost 9 officers and 199 other ranks.

On March 28th the 4th Londons relieved the 2nd, and
they had the distinction of twice fighting through Bulle-
court in the next few days. On the 31st, in about half an
hour after the beginning of the attack, the left company
(D) were half-way through the northern end of the village.
The right company (C) were at this time held up, but the
support company entered the village and began to " mop

294 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

up." Slow progress was made, but by 8.40 a.m. the left
company were through the northern end of the village and
in touch with the Middlesex. The reserve company rilled
the gap between the two leading companies, and C
Company were able to push through to the east, where
they were held up some time by machine guns in a derelict
tank. At 3 p.m. the village was clear of the enemy, and
Lewis-gun posts were established across the eastern out-
skirts. After this very useful attack the battalion were
relieved on September 1st. The three battalions of the
London Regiment lost in the August operations 38 officers
and 805 other ranks, and after the recapture of Bulle-
court they were withdrawn to refit.

The Lys. — Meanwhile the rest of the front had changed
more rapidly. Even in the Lys area the German gains
were being surrendered. The 2nd Royal Fusiliers returned
to the sector of the line, which in April had seen their
brave but unsuccessful attempts to check the German
advance, on August 17th, and two days later co-operated
with the attack on Outtersteene Ridge by sending out
patrols to Lynde Farm. It was thought that in this
sector with a little persuasion the line could be advanced,
but a very hot machine-gun fire soon brought disillusion.
Second Lieutenant Quinn was killed, with 5 other ranks,
while 15 men were wounded. A planned attack was
delivered at 5 p.m. on the 19th. The fortified farms
Lynde and Lesage were captured ; and W Company, on
the right, also assisted the 12th Norfolks in the capture of
Labis Farm. The battalion that night held a line in front
of the sector of the Vieux Berquin-Outtersteene road,
running from the cross roads to the railway. Their total
casualty list was 73 killed and wounded, including Second
Lieutenants Whyte and Brown killed ; but they took
prisoner 1 officer and no men and captured ten machine
guns and two trench mortars. On the next two days
patrols were pushed forward to Haute Maison, over
1,000 yards due east. No opposition was met, and the
forward positions were consolidated.

RECOVERY OF KEMMEL HILL 295

Kemmel Hill. — A more important readjustment of
the line took place before the end of the month on the
northern face of the Lys sector. The 26th Royal Fusiliers
had moved to this part of the front at the end of June,
their division relieving the French troops who were then
holding it. When they went into the front line on July
10th the defences still showed signs of bitter fighting.
The front line companies held shallow rifle pits without
any communications. They were consequently confined
to their positions during the long summer days, and could
only leave them in the brief hours of darkness. Even then
the commanding position of Kemmel Hill made movement
risky. Despite all handicaps, Second Lieutenants Hector
and Freemantle took out a raiding party of B Company
towards the end of the month and secured the necessary
identifications.* They were relieved by American troops
on July 31st, but returned to the line on August 29th.
They were due to be relieved on August 31st, but on the
preceding evening they were very heavily shelled. About
9 p.m. the barrage appeared to be directed on the German
front line positions ; and, appreciating the significance of
this procedure at once, the commanding officer sent out
patrols under Second Lieutenant K. B. Legg and Second
Lieutenant F. J. Quinton. The German front line was
reported evacuated, and it was inferred that the Germans
were abandoning Kemmel Hill. The relief was cancelled ;
and C Company, under Lieutenant W. Willson, were
ordered to follow up the retirement. They began to move
forward before dawn, and were half-way up the western
slope before they met with any opposition. A very heavy
machine-gun fire was then experienced from the left, and
the company were halted while scouts went forward. At
10.30 a.m. C and D Companies crossed the hill and
advanced down the eastern slopes. In the lower ground
the enemy could be seen retiring covered by small rear-
guards. The 26th Battalion now formed part of an
organised advance ; and they rapidly pushed eastwards

* Both these officers received the M.C.

296 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

about a mile and a half, in which position they were relieved
in the morning of September ist. The only casualties
were two men wounded in one of the most bitterly con-
tested areas on the whole of the front, a striking indication
of the different tempo of the fighting. The Lys front was
yielding, and the 2nd Battalion advanced on August 31st
and September ist to a line from La Becque to a point
about 1,000 yards due west of La Creche. The German
guns had been moved back, and only a few shells and

occasional snipers met the troops as they advanced.
» * * *

Meanwhile the main attack had been delivered to the
south. On August 23rd the 4th Royal Fusiliers were to
advance with the general movement of the 3rd Division.
As the 76th Brigade moved on Gomiecourt at 4 a.m., the
9th were to complete the capture of the railway. The
2nd Division were to pass through the 3rd Division at
11 a.m. with the 37th Division on their right ; but at
10.20 a.m. the 9th Brigade were ordered to fill the gap
between the 2nd and 37th Divisions, the Northumberland
Fusiliers being followed by the 4th Royal Fusiliers. The
Northumberland Fusiliers accordingly advanced about a
mile beyond the railway and the 4th Royal Fusiliers closed
up to the west side of the line.

The 24th Royal Fusiliers, who went through with the
2nd Division at 11 a.m., met with a heavy artillery fire at
once. In crossing the railway they also suffered from
rifle fire directed from a small post on their right. Gomie-
court was left on the south, and the battalion swung to
the right in the face of a heavy fire from all arms. Their
way was pitted by 8-inch shells, and machine-gun fire met
them on both flanks. The conditions, in fine, were almost
intolerable ; but the battalion went through the barrage,
cool, unhurried, unfaltering, and, with the Highland Light
Infantry, they reached and consolidated the ridge west of
Behagnies. Here a field gun, limbers, and eight horses
were captured, with much booty, including a number of
valuable documents.

THE 13TH BATTALION'S FINE SUCCESS 297

C Company of the 17th Battalion, advancing in support
of the 1st King's attack a little to the north, captured five
77-mm. guns. The 23rd Battalion provided a composite
company, who also attacked in this sector of the front, and
succeeded in securing positions just west of Sapignies.

Achiet le Grand. — The 13th Royal Fusiliers, attack-
ing on the south-west, had a more stirring time. No. 2
Company, under Captain Whitehead, M.C.,* on the left
front, skilfully turned the brickworks west of Achiet le
Grand, capturing 60 prisoners and n light machine guns ;
but No. 3 Company, on the right, met with intense machine-
gun fire on the top of the railway embankment. The
Germans were in good cover, and could not be easily located.
The attack was held up temporarily, and then, under
cover of a heavy and sustained fire, the men were enabled
to crawl up the embankment and enfilade the enemy. A
Lewis-gun team rushed across and took the Germans in
the rear. Indeed, this was a fight of fights. The team
were picked off one by one, but not before they had so
demoralised the Germans that a sudden rush finished the
struggle. The cutting was like a rabbit warren. It was
simply alive with Germans, and their surrender was almost
embarrassing. Dug-out after dug-out was cleared. One of
them disgorged a German staff, including an officer who
spoke English. He was promptly pressed into service,
and went round with the mopping-up party. His authori-
tative orders to come out and surrender were obeyed with
alacrity. Out of this cutting at least 400 Germans were
taken, with many light and heavy machine guns. The
position had been thought so secure that in one of the
dug-outs a meal had just been taken. Hot coffee lay on
the table. It was one of the greatest days experienced
by the battalion, and their right flank was apparently in
the air. Patrols were sent down for 1,000 yards without
locating any other troops. The cutting was crossed, and
the advance was resumed. Through the battalion's col-
lecting station that day over 1,000 prisoners passed, and

* He received the D.S.O. for his services on this day.

298 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the battalion's casualties from the 21st to the 27th in-
clusive were little more than a fifth of this number.
Captain J. Marguard and Second Lieutenant A. McCarthy
were killed in this engagement, and 5 officers were
wounded.

The 10th Royal Fusiliers passed through to attack
Achiet le Grand at 1.30 p.m., after the village had been
bombarded for an hour. D Company were on the left,
A on the right, with B in the centre. The village held a
large German garrison ; but apparently the crushing of the
resistance in the cutting to the west, combined with the
bombardment, had broken their morale, for Second Lieu-
tenant W. F. Smith With his platoon, only 19 strong, alone
captured 118 of the enemy. The village was soon cleared
and the battalion advanced to the east ; but their right
flank was in the air and so continued throughout the day
and night. About 200 yards south of the village the
enemy were still in possession of a strong post, and a
heavy machine-gun fire was kept up from this quarter.
The village was also heavily bombarded ; but there were
few casualties, as the battalion had withdrawn to the east.
On the following day the battalion were relieved and went
back to the dug-outs in the cutting which had been so
skilfully cleared by the 13th Royal Fusiliers.

Behagnies. — The attack of the 24th Royal Fusiliers
on August 23rd carried the battalion to the ridge west of
Behagnies, while the 23rd Battalion were moving to the
threshold of Sapignies. On the 25th Behagnies, Sapig-
nies, and Favreuil were attacked, the first and last by the
Royal Fusiliers to whom they fell. In effect, the troops
were aiming at the northern flank of Bapaume. On the
24th the 17th Royal Fusiliers had co-operated in the
attack upon Mory. The contribution of the regiment to
the successes of the 25th was more significant. The 24th
Battalion had spent a day in reorganisation and prepara-
tion for the resumption of the attack. The assault began
at 3.30 a.m., and was a complete surprise. Behagnies was
strongly held, and there were no machine guns. But

CAPTURE OF FAVREUIL, AUGUST 25TH 299

the troops followed the barrage so closely that they were
upon the positions before the elaborate defences could be
manned. Many of the men were sleeping in their dug-
outs. These for the most part recognised the inevitable
and surrendered. Some who attempted to escape were
promptly shot down. The support company did their
work of mopping up thoroughly and expeditiously, while
the leading companies pushed through the village towards
their objective, the ridge about 300 yards east of Behag-
nies. This was occupied and put into a state of defence ;
and the support company, having completed their work
in the village, took up positions to guard the southern
approaches. Many young and untried troops took part
in this action. It was their first battle, but they behaved
with all the sang froid of veterans. At 6 p.m. the village
was completely in the hands of the battalion with 200
prisoners, a number which exceeded the total casualties
of the battalion for the two days' operations.

Favreuil. — In the afternoon of the same day the 10th
Royal Fusiliers moved up in support to their brigade,
passing through a heavy barrage straight to Favreuil.
Five hundred yards west of the village they found the
13th King's Royal Rifle Corps held up by a heavy machine-
gun fire. The battalion were intended to attack from the
west and north-west, but under the circumstances such
action would have been costly folly. The battalion
accordingly moved southward, and achieving a position
from which they enfiladed the enemy lying on the west of
the village, caused them to surrender. The orchard and
north-west corner of the village were still strongly held
with numerous machine guns. When darkness fell a
concerted attempt was made to reduce these positions.
Second Lieutenant C. W. N. Woodcock with a platoon
moved along the northern edge of the village. Machine
guns opened fire upon them from the orchard, and several
were rushed. Another platoon moved through the centre
of the village, and established contact with the 13th Rifle
Brigade on the east side. This platoon also came under

300 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

fire from the orchard, but towards midnight the two
platoons began to approach each other, and the enemy
withdrew under the threat of envelopment. A gap
between the 13th Rifle Brigade, 400 yards east of the
village, and the New Zealand Division, was filled by two
platoons of A Company, under Second Lieutenant A. W.
Usher. The village was completely held by 3 a.m. on
August 26th, but the battalion had not achieved contact
with the 2nd Division on the north. A few hours later
they were relieved.

Thilloy. — The 63rd Division on August 26th attempted
to capture Thilloy, Ligny Thilloy and Riencourt. But the
two brigades devoted to this attack were held up before
the first two villages, and in the renewed attack on the
following day the 7th Royal Fusiliers advanced with the
4th Bedfords. The day appeared to be out of joint. At
11 a.m. the barrage began, and was short, many casualties
being inflicted on the troops assembled for attack. The
first assault, launched with such handicaps, produced
nothing but further casualties. In the afternoon another
attack was delivered, and the troops penetrated into the
village of Thilloy. But the battalion were now seriously
weakened, and the losses of officers were particularly
heavy. The surviving men, being leaderless, at length
withdrew ; and the battalion were relieved after a
disastrous day.

Towards Peronne. — Meanwhile the Royal Fusiliers in
the III. Corps had been heavily engaged against a growing
resistance north of the Somme. On August 25th the
second line London battalions and the 9th and nth Royal
Fusiliers were all involved in the attack. Moving from
positions west of Bronfay Farm, the 2/2 and 2/4 Londons
pushed well forward to the east of the Carnoy-Suzanne
road. The 2/2nd at the end of the day lay astride the
Fricourt-Maricourt road east of Carnoy, after capturing
Carre Wood and an elaborate trench system ; while the
2/4th held positions to the north-east of Billon Wood, which
they had captured after a very fierce struggle. To the

TERRITORIALS CAPTURE MARICOURT 301

north the 9th Royal Fusiliers advanced on a front of 1,200
yards to a depth of about 2,000 yards, carrying the line
forward to the south-western edge of Fricourt. Patrols
were sent eastward along the north-west edge of Mametz,
and reported the village evacuated. Fricourt was also
found to be clear of the enemy at the same time, and
the division advanced. But this weakening resistance did
not confront the nth Royal Fusiliers, who, attempting
to capture the high ground in front of Montauban, en-
countered a most stubborn resistance, and were unable to
capture their objectives. The struggle was renewed on
the following day, and fighting vigorously across ground
where they had first gained their spurs, the battalion
pressed into Montauban.

The 3rd Londons on this day (August 26th) represented
the Fusilier Brigade. Attacking at very short notice
astride the Peronne road, the battalion had gained all
objectives by 9.30 a.m. Their final line lay across the
western outskirts of Maricourt. B Company, indeed, had
entered the village, but had been forced to retire. The
village was attacked and carried on the 27th, and on the
following day the 2/2 Battalion captured the German
positions between Bois d'en Haut and Support Copse,
while the 9th Royal Fusiliers, on their left, advanced about
2,000 yards to their objectives. Hardecourt fell to them,
and 50 prisoners of various battalions of the 2nd Guards
Division with sixteen machine guns. They had suffered
heavily from machine-gun fire, but the capture of prisoners
from a famous division was an inspiriting performance.
The second line Londons on August 26th received a note of
well-earned praise from their Brigadier : " The Major-
General commanding the division, in congratulating you
all, wishes me to tell you that Sir Douglas Haig, the Army
Commander, and the Corps Commander, have all expressed
the highest praise for the way in which the brigade is
fighting. For myself, I cannot say how proud I am to be
in command of such a brigade as the Fusilier Brigade."

At 5.15 a.m. on August 30th the nth Royal Fusiliers

302 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

advanced through the Northants. The preceding day the
brigade had gone forward in column of route, the leading
companies alone being in open formation, and with little
resistance had reached the edge of Combles. But the nth
Battalion came under heavy fire and were held up at Priez
Farm. By this time this battalion had secured during
August 3 officers and 450 other ranks prisoners. They
had received a letter of warm congratulation from Sir
Henry Rawlinson for their feat in crossing the Ancre, and,
indeed, their action had been deserving of all praise.

On August 31st the 4th Battalion, who had moved up to
positions south-east of Ecoust, attacked eastwards. Ten
minutes before zero the assembly positions were subjected
to a heavy shell and machine-gun fire, and there were
many casualties ; and when our barrage began, five minutes
later, it missed the chief obstacles in the way of the Royal
Fusiliers' advance. As a consequence, while the battalions
on both flanks advanced with little trouble, the 4th Royal
Fusiliers were decisively checked by machine-gun fire from
the sunken road, about 250 yards to the east. Z Company
made several most gallant attempts to reach these guns,
but the men were mown down, and all the officers but one
became casualties. The tank which should have assisted
in coping with this obstacle caught fire a few minutes
before zero. Another tank broke down actually in the
road, and a German officer, climbing on top of it, shot or
took prisoner the whole of the crew. A machine-gun nest
in the south of Ecoust also devoted too much attention to
the battalion, who were completely held up. About 8 p.m.
the 1st Northumberland Fusiliers cleared the sunken road
under a creeping barrage, and before dawn on September
1st the 4th Royal Fusiliers had advanced 1,500 yards. At
6 p.m. on the same day, with only eight casualties, the
battalion carried the line still further, clearing the sunken
road midway between Longatte and Noreuil. In this
operation 70 prisoners and several machine guns and trench
mortars were captured.

As a result of the fighting since August 8th, the enemy

ADVANCE OF SEPTEMBER 3RD 303

had been beaten out of his positions over a great stretch
of front. " During the night of September 2nd— 3rd he
fell back rapidly on the whole front of the Third Army.
By the end of the day he had taken up positions along the
general line of the Canal du Nord from Peronne to Ytres,
and thence east of Hermies, Inchy en Artois and Ecourt
St. Quentin to the Sensee east of Lecluse."* The retire-
ment was promptly followed up. At 5.20 a.m. on Sep-
tember 3rd the 17th Royal Fusiliers began to advance.
Only two hours before, they had reached the position,
relieving another battalion, on a line about 1,000 yards
east of Vaux-Vraucourt. With A Company (Captain
Ash well) on the right and B (Captain Sword) on the left,
the battalion rapidly advanced to the first objective, about
5,000 yards from their starting point, and they were
ordered to resume their progress at 1 p.m. Major Smith,
the adjutant, who rode forward to give final instructions,
could not locate the battalion at first ; and they did not
resume the advance until 2.30 p.m. Doignies was soon
passed, but about 1,000 yards to the east they were held
up by machine-gun fire from the neighbourhood of Boursies.
At this point two platoons of C Company were sent up to
make good the casualties in B Company. At 6.20 p.m.
the advance was resumed with the help of artillery, and
Demicourt was taken. At 6.55 p.m. positions were taken
up covering Demicourt and Boursies, which B Company
occupied. At the latter village they were in touch with
the Guards, and on the left they were in contact with the
South Staffords. The battalion had been advancing
almost continuously for over thirteen hours, prepared for
anything, in verification of an inference of the high com-
mand. In this period they had covered some 9,500 yards,|
at a total cost of 52 casualties.

The next day the 13th Royal Fusiliers carried on the

* Despatch.

f The difficulty of representing most movements on a map, except of
large scale, and the striking ease with which this movement can be
shown on a map of almost any reasonable scale, shows sufficiently how
times were changing.

304 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

advance a little to the south, but their progress was more
chequered, and at the end of the day they encountered a
firm resistance. They set out at 7 a.m. from near Hermies,
with the purpose of taking up a line east of Havrincourt.
But they had only advanced 200 yards before they were
held up by machine-gun and trench-mortar fire from the
right flank. But the trench mortars were put out of
action and the machine guns compelled to retire, and the
advance was continued. The Canal du Nord runs roughly
parallel to the railway about 1,100 yards south of Hermies,
and then turns northward about 2,000 yards east of the
village. Near the bend, on the southern side, is the
north-western extension of Havrincourt Wood. At the
west corner of the wood a platoon crossed the canal to
the south. The 1/1 Herts, who were on the right of the
13th Battalion, were at this point 500 yards in the rear ;
and the Royal Fusiliers were suffering from enfilade fire
from this quarter. After a halt to enable the Herts to
come up the advance was resumed due eastward, and
Lewis guns were established on Yorkshire Bank. The
right were now once more out of touch, and Germans
could be seen moving up in the wood at the bend of the
canal. The right company were then withdrawn to the
tunnel under the canal a little to the west. On the left
the line was established in front of Square Copse, and in
the evening touch was achieved with the 2nd Division.
The battalion had covered about 2,500 yards in their
advance, but under greater difficulties than had faced the
17th Battalion. The next two days patrols were pushed
out eastward, and the position consolidated in depth at
the same time that it was being advanced.

But the enemy resistance had now definitely hardened
on this part of the front, and the 23rd Royal Fusiliers,
attacking east of Doignies (September 7th) , suffered very
heavily. The Canal du Nord, with the approaches swept
by enemy fire, formed a formidable line of resistance.
Below, from the neighbourhood of Havrincourt, the main
line was the Hindenburg system ; and at this time the

EPEHY-PEZIERES, SEPTEMBER ioth 305

Germans held very strong positions, in advance of the
main trench system, at Havrincourt and Epehy. Before
the attack on the Hindenburg line these outliers had to
be taken. It fell to the Royal Fusiliers to put the strength
of one of these outposts to the test.

Epehy. — Epehy-Pezieres forms topographically not
two, but one feature, and against this position the Fusilier
Brigade of the 58th Division advanced on September ioth.
The battalions were all weak, the 2/2 Londons mustering
only 17 officers and 481 other ranks before the battle.
The 2/2nd and 3rd Londons advanced to the attack at
5.15 a.m. The objective of both battalions was the east
of the two villages. Pezieres was to be taken by the
2/2nd, and Epehy by the 3rd Londons. The German
line in this sector had been heavily reinforced ; and the
Alpine Corps, a body of formidable troops, held the
objectives of the Fusiliers' attack. The advance began
in a heavy storm of driving rain ; and, despite the stubborn
resistance, the objective was gained by both battalions.
But such positions could not be reduced in face of the
resistance of organised garrisons without a much heavier
treatment by artillery and the assistance of tanks. Neither
Epehy nor Pezieres was thoroughly mopped up, and as a
consequence when the counter-attack came the attacking
companies of the 2/2 Londons found themselves sur-
rounded. The men had to fight their way back. They
retired on Tottenham Post, in the north-western outskirts
of Pezieres, with a loss of 8 officers and 164 other ranks.
The 3rd Londons were also compelled to abandon their
objective. They had suffered heavily in the advance
from fire directed from the trenches south of Epehy.
in the afternoon the commanding officer led a bombing
attack on these trenches and succeeded in turning the
Germans out. The remnants of A and C Companies who,
under Captain S. W. Johnson, had held positions on the
railway embankment for some time, were forced back by
the counter-attack from the railway embankment to a
position slightly behind the assembly position. The 3rd

F. X

306 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Londons lost only 7 officers and 8y other ranks, a suffici-
ently heavy casualty list for an unsuccessful action, but
not half the loss of the sister battalion. The 2/4 Londons,
who had been in support and were occupied in mopping
up, took 80 prisoners, twenty machine guns, and three
anti-tank guns. Owing to the difficulty of replacing the
casualties, the 2/4th were amalgamated with the 2/2nd
on September 12th.

On September 12th Trescault and Havrincourt were
taken, and the 24th Royal Fusiliers became involved in
the 2nd Division's attack near Mceuvres. An attempt
by the 10th Royal Fusiliers to capture the Bilhen Chapel
wood switch on the 14th led to one of the most protracted
bitter and evenly contested actions of this phase. For
the next few days the troops were rested and exercised
in preparation for the larger action against the approaches
to the Hindenburg system.

Battle of Epehy. — At 5.20 on the morning of Sep-
tember 1 8th the Fourth and Third Armies struck on a
front of about seventeen miles from Holnon to Gouzeau-
court. North of the main attack the 13th Royal Fusiliers
were engaged on this day in one of those actions that
recurred almost to the very end of the war. The assault
was launched in a rain storm, and the battalion found
themselves held up by a strong belt of wire. The artillery
had failed to destroy it, and there were several bombing
blocks which had escaped untouched. No headway
could be made, although the battalion three times attacked.
After this the attempts ceased, and the battalion retired
to their original positions.

A few miles farther north the 4th Battalion were heavily
attacked by the enemy. At 3.30 p.m. a bombardment
of the battery area began, and three-quarters of an hour
later the front line and headquarters came unc'er an
intense barrage. At 5 p.m. the Germans attacked and
succeeded in penetrating the battalion front in three
places, pushing vigorously along the sunken road and
railway leading into Havrincourt. Captain A. J. Lord,

SECOND ATTACK ON EPEHY-PEZIERES 307

D.S.O., M.C., and Captain Mabbot, M.C., on the right and
left fronts respectively, counter-attacked, drove the
enemy out and completely re-established the original
front line. Captains Smith and Howard, support and
reserve, threw the Germans back from the exposed left
flank which they had penetrated. Seventy prisoners and
five machine guns were captured. Second Lieutenant E.
Twigg and 19 other ranks were killed, and there were 52
other casualties ; but the honours of this small engage-
ment remained in the hands of the Royal Fusiliers.

In the main attack the two London battalions again
moved against Epehy-Pezieres. The 2/2 Londons were on
the left and the 3rd Londons on the right. Despite the
bad weather and the most obstinate resistance, the two
battalions made excellent progress, and by 10.20 a.m.
had cleared Pezieres all but one post. The 2/2 Londons
found the second stage of the attack more difficult. They
had to cross the tangle of trenches north-west of Pezieres,
and very little impression could be made upon Poplar
Trench. This trench threw a roughly semicircular loop
over the ridge above Catelet Valley, on the road leading
north-west from Epehy. At 9 p.m. Captain White-
head, M.C., attacked it with all the force available, but
was only able to establish three posts on the road below the
trench. It was attacked again at 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. on
September 19th, and a block was established about half-
way up the trench. Another attack at 11 a.m. made but
slow progress. At 3 p.m. a platoon under Second
Lieutenant A. K. Chesterton reinforced Captain White-
head's party and did good work, but it was not until
7 p.m. that the whole of the trench had been cleared and
touch obtained with the brigade on the right. Every
yard had been fiercely contested, and it says much for
the 2/2 Londons that their persistence at length wore out
a famous German unit. Meanwhile the 3rd Londons had
the task of reducing the strong points in Pezieres. Their
task was made more difficult by the successful resistance
of the Alpine Corps in Epehy. Fisher's Keep, one of the

x 2

308 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

objectives of the 3rd Londons, held out until 7.45 p.m.,
when only 17 unwounded men remained of the original
garrison of 3 officers and 45 men. On September 19th
No. 1 Company held four of the enemy posts, and No. 2
had a grip on the railway cutting east of the village.

The 9th Royal Fusiliers moved due east from the rail-
way south of Epehy and north of Ronssoy to their final
objective, about 1,500 yards ahead. The battalion on
the left lost direction, and when the 9th Royal Fusiliers
had reached their final objective, their flanks were in the
air. On the right they had been in touch at the first two
objectives, but not at the final one ; and the resistance in
Epehy disturbed the day's plan. At the end of the day
the battalion dug in on their objectives with Lewis guns
protecting their flanks. They had captured 1 officer
and 65 other ranks from the Alpine Corps and 1st Guard
Grenadier Regiment with seven machine guns. Captain
W. E. Bott and Second Lieutenant G. S. Lowe, killed,
were among the 113 casualties. On September 21st the
9th Royal Fusiliers were again called upon to attack in an
endeavour to secure the final objectives of the 18th ; but,
despite several gallant attempts, little headway could be
made, and the battalion lost very heavily. Eleven
officers were lost, three, Second Lieutenants F. C. L.
Harrup, M.C., V. H. Isaacs and B. Spence, being killed.
These were very important losses, and, with the 270 other
ranks casualties, badly weakened the battalion.

Hard fighting was the lot of all these units in this battle,
but, for the complexus of difficulties involved, the nth
Royal Fusiliers' role must have been almost unique. The
R. W. Rents, attacking with the 54th Brigade, were to
capture and hold a line through the eastern outskirts of
Ronssoy. The Bedfords were to pass through them and
establish a line at the junction of the Bellicourt and Guil-
lemont (farm) roads. The Northants on the left and the
nth Royal Fusiliers on the right had then to form up
and attack northwards, at right angles to the main line of
advance, with May and Lempire among their objectives.

ELEVENTH BATTALION'S HARD TASK 309

By 7.30 a.m. (September 18th) the nth Battalion were
formed up. This alone was no slight matter under the
circumstances. In the fog the attacking lines of the three
battalions became considerably mixed. Despite the
heavy machine-gun fire about Ronssoy, Captain G. E.
Cornaby exposed himself freely in order to organise his
company ; and this done, he led them forward under the
barrage to almost the whole of their objectives. Captain
Hornfeck with Captain Cornaby " led his men forward,
and, in spite of his exposed right flank and heavy machine-
gun and point-blank artillery fire from that direction,
succeeded in gaining his objective, capturing two field
guns and several trench mortars. On Captain Cornaby
becoming a casualty he took command in this area,
reorganised round the principal strong points and drove
off two counter-attacks."* Some of the men moved
throughout the morning to the whistle of the sergeant-
major as though in extended order drill. To complete
the anomaly, a German prisoner, eating black bread and
sausage, insisted on following the sergeant-major, and,
all threats notwithstanding, cheerfully continued to do so.
But, despite all gallantry and skill, the troops did not reach
their final objectives, and when the 55th Brigade attacked
through them they, too, could make very little headway.
The enemy's resistance on the east of Basse Boulogne and
in Lempire could not be overcome.

In order to complete the capture of the objectives of
September 18th, the attack was resumed at 5.20 a.m.
on the 21st, the nth Royal Fusiliers being in reserve.
But about midday two companies, organised as one, were
attached to the Bedfords, and they were sent forward
against Duncan Post at 12.15 am- on the 22nd. There
was a little moonlight, but not much, and the company,
losing direction, captured Cat Post (500 yards farther
south) and some trench elements, sending back 20
prisoners. There was thus a gap on their left flank.
About 1 p.m. the Bedfords carried Duncan Post with a

* Both of these officers gained the M.C.

310 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

number of prisoners. About ioo Germans attempted
to escape eastwards, and the attached Fusiliers gave
chase. In the midst of this incident our barrage came
down to break up a counter-attack farther north, and some
of the Fusiliers were caught in it. Somehow out of the
confusion a solid achievement emerged, and the ground
was cleared for the general offensive.

'C. £ £t*£/j

'9'9

Major-General Sir Charles Townshend, K.C.B., D.S.O., M.P.

CHAPTER XVII

THE HUNDRED DAYS — LAST BATTLES

The battles which began with the Franco-American
attack north of Verdun on September 26th logically
opened a new and the last phase of the war. The general
offensive consisted of a series of converging attacks which
' depended in a peculiarly large degree upon the British
attack in the centre. It was here that the enemy's defences
were most highly organised. If these were broken, the
threat directed at his vital systems of lateral communica-
tion would of necessity react upon his defence elsewhere."*
Yet it must be evident that the British armies entered
upon this critical phase weary and weakened from the
almost continual fighting from August 8th. The engage-
ments fought, now here, now there, by the various bat-
talions of the Royal Fusiliers, under great stress and with
heavy casualties, are in their way a fairly just indication
of the state of the Army generally. But when Sir
Douglas Haig decided to embark upon the new offen-
sive against a defensive system of extraordinary strength,
he recognised that never had the morale of the British
troops been higher. This confidence had been fed by a
long series of victories, and as the last phase developed
it was inflamed by the successive defection of Germany's
allies and the German efforts to obtain an armistice.

But it must not be thought that the Germans did not
fight very valiantly through the greater part of this period,
though the resistance was " patchy." Almost to the end
some of the Royal Fusilier battalions had to make their
way against very heavy righting ; and it is part of the
difficulty of describing these last days that in some places

* Despatch.

312 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the battalions covered great distances without meeting
any real resistance over ground that seemed to offer every
evidence of enforced and hasty retreat, through scenes and
experiences entirely novel, while others fought numerous
heavy battles, and could make little headway against the
defensive.

September 27th. — The British offensive on the St.
Quentin-Cambrai front was not launched as one great
attack. The defence was more formidable on the southern
half of the front, and the British artillery on this sector
laboured under a handicap until the Hindenburg line and
the approaches to Cambrai had been won. In order to
assist the Fourth Army attack, Sir Douglas Haig, therefore,
struck first between Gouzeaucourt and Sauchy-Lestree
on September 27th. On the extreme north of the front of
attack the 2nd Londons, who on the preceding night had
assembled midway between Villers-lez-Cagincourt and
Baralle, advanced to the canal and waited there while the
Canadians cleared up Marquion. They then crossed the
canal, headed by D Company under Captain D. Sloan,
moved through the village and advanced to the first
objective. D Company encountered some resistance on
the canal line, and B, under Captain W. T. Telford, M.C.,
took their section of the line at the double. At 3.28 p.m.
the advance was resumed behind a creeping barrage. A
Company, on the right, went forward as steadily as if on
parade, and their first prisoners were a German doctor and
his Aid Post staff. Sauchy-Lestree was captured with
little difficulty, a company of the London Rifle Brigade
clearing it up while the Londons advanced. Part of
Sauchy-Cauchy was within the battalion's boundaries, and
the troops wheeled left to deal with it. A cleared Cemetery
Wood, and their patrols found numbers of Germans in dug-
outs between it and Oisy le Verger. Some machine-gun
nests north of the wood resisted four attacks, but suc-
cumbed to the fifth, and by 3 a.m. on the 28th the Londons
were on the final objective after a very brilliant advance.
A company (C) continued the advance towards Palluel at

CAPTURE OF RIBECOURT, SEPTEMBER 27TH 313

10.30 the following day and established posts between
the village and the Bois de Quesnoy as directed. Besides
much materiel they had captured 6 officers and 454 other
ranks, and their total casualties were only 71. Mean-
while the 4th Londons assisted in clearing up the western
side of the canal up to the railway south-east of
Palluel.

Some miles to the south the 7th Battalion had to attack
over familiar ground. Assembling on the railway west of
Moeuvres, the battalion moved forward at zero (5.20 a.m.)
and crossed the canal without much opposition ; but on
the spur south-west of Bourbon Wood, the final objective,
the Fusiliers had to crush by rifle and machine-gun fire an
attempt to hold them up. The battalion quickly took the
trench on the spur, and reorganised before the 188th
Brigade passed through. Second Lieutenant R. H.
Righton was killed by a shell in the trench ; but the
casualties were few, and the battalion had captured a field
gun, 10 light and 10 heavy machine guns, and 4 officers
and 400 other ranks. They remained in the trench during
the night.

The Royal Fusilier battalions of the 2nd Division were
not engaged this day, but the 17th Battalion, resting at a
place where they had stood after the German counter-
attack in 1917, Lock 7, suffered 32 casualties from a
German aeroplane which secured three direct hits. The
4th Royal Fusiliers carried out a businesslike advance to
Ribecourt. Moving off in artillery formation behind the
1st Northumberland Fusiliers and 13th King's Liverpools
at 8.20 a.m., the battalion's progress was uneventful until
the leading companies found themselves held up by a
machine-gun nest about 800 yards west of the southern
end of Ribecourt. The two support companies then closed
up, and the four companies, advancing in line, surrounded
and captured the post. The battalion were again checked
at the western edge of Ribecourt ; but at 10.30 they had
penetrated into the village, and in another hour they had
crushed all resistance and had begun to consolidate on

314 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

the eastern edge of the village. Among their captures on
this day was a 6-inch howitzer.

The Canal Crossing. — On September 28th the 17th
Royal Fusiliers found themselves faced with a task calling
for every spark of their daring and resource. Two
companies, C and D, had been directed after dark on the
preceding day to form a defensive flank on the left of the
brigade, and were ordered to attack on the 28th with the
high ground across the canal, north-east of Noyelles, as
their final objective. By 8.30 a.m. Noyelles had been
captured and the River Scheldt crossed. But the resist-
ance stiffened very considerably at the canal crossings,
and the whole of the division were held up. At this
juncture it was decided to make an attempt to put a
company of the 17th Royal Fusiliers across the canal by
sending them down the river on a raft to the point where
it is crossed by the canal. The plan was to raft the
company under the canal arches, and then land and form
up on the east of the canal. D Company with a platoon
of B were ordered to undertake the task. Second
Lieutenant F. G. Waters was ordered to reconnoitre the
river with a view to the practicability of the operation.
This young officer " swam the Scheldt in broad daylight
with a rope in order to get a raft across for an attack to
be made on the enemy ; and reconnoitred the ground on
the east side with the enemy only fifty yards away. He
was in charge of the leading wave of the attack, and led his
men with great courage and determination against two
machine guns, killing both crews. Later, when the enemy
counter-attacked, he rallied his men and led them forward,
remaining at duty after being wounded." * D Company
started to cross at 5.15 p.m., but the low clearance under-
neath the arches proved too great a handicap ; and the
bulk of the men crossed by the lock bridges in single file
under heavy fire. It is one of the odd chances of war that
these men, silhouetted against the skyline, got across with
extremely few casualties. But their adventures on the

* Official account. He was granted the M.C.

ELEVENTH BATTALION ENTER VENDHUILE 315

other side speedily reduced their numbers. At 3 a.m. on
September 29th the Germans counter-attacked the King's
Own, on the right, driving them back upon the 17th
Royal Fusiliers. There was much confusion, and many
fell back to the west side of the canal. Captain Spencer,
M.M., assisted by Captains Sword and Panting (CO. of
D Company) rallied the men and restored the situation.
But the machine-gun fire was intense and the casualties
heavy. On the morning of the 29th they were ordered
to take up a position between Paris Copse and Range
Wood, towards the outskirts of Cambrai. They advanced
beyond this line. The CO. and Captain Spencer (Adju-
tant) went forward to bring them back and organise them
in depth. This was done, and C Company formed a
defensive flank on the right until the battalion were
relieved a little before midnight. The establishment of
this bridge-head, so necessary to the division, and depend-
ing upon multiplied acts of gallantry, cost the battalion
the loss of 249 officers and men.

Vendhuile. — But by this time the Fourth Army attack
had been launched, and the northern front was being
revolutionised. The nth Royal Fusiliers were on the
left of the Fourth Army line, and, forming up at Sart
Farm, about 500 yards south-east of the Lempire, advanced
to their objective, the trench line on the outskirts of
Vendhuile. To this position they held throughout the day
(29th), despite the unwelcome attentions of German
artillery and some short firing of our own guns. As the
enemy were observed to be withdrawing on the following
day, the nth went forward to clear the village. Very
brisk fighting took place before this was accomplished,
but it had been completed when the Bedfords arrived to
help. The battalion were relieved that night, and with
the brigade left the line for a well-earned rest.

Flanders. — Two battalions of the regiment were also
involved in the fourth of the converging attacks men-
tioned by Sir Douglas Haig, the advance in Flanders.
The 2nd Battalion had left the Lys area on September 27th,

316 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

and at 5.30 the next morning moved forward from the
position of assembly east of Ypres in support of the Dub-
lins. W and X Companies formed the first wave, and,
passing through the Lancashires at 7.8 a.m., moved after
the Dublins. On the Stirling Castle ridge considerable
opposition was encountered from pill-boxes and from the
short firing of our own artillery ; and the Royal Fusiliers
became involved in the firing line. Several pill-boxes were
smartly cleared, forty prisoners being taken from one and
the garrison of another, who refused to come out, being
put out of action. After passing through the Dublins, the
first opposition was encountered from a trench about
200 yards north of Veldhoek. W Company put an end
to the resistance, capturing 15 prisoners.

A number of pill-boxes were rushed at this point, and
the total of prisoners began to swell. At 9.45 a.m. the
battalion rushed the line Polderhoek Ridge-Cameron
House, and three-quarters of an hour later they crossed
the Menin road and captured Gheluvelt. The positions
which had resisted so obstinately all the earlier assaults
now began to fall into the hands of the troops like ripe
fruit. On this day the 2nd Royal Fusiliers made a
striking advance, suffered very few casualties, and cap-
tured about 300 prisoners, many machine guns, and a
complete battery of 5.9's. That night they formed a
defensive flank to the 88th Brigade, a little to the east of
Hooge. The advance was resumed the following morning,
the Royal Fusiliers being echeloned on the left rear of the
88th Brigade. In spite of heavy machine-gun fire the
ridge across the Menin road, which the Becelaere road
follows, was captured and held. A line was established
on this ridge for about 1,000 yards north of the road, and
on this the battalion remained until night under per-
sistent sniping, machine-gun and shell fire. Up to this
time they had only had 47 casualties in the two days'
fighting.

On October 1st they relieved the Lancashires at about
the centre of the road between Gheluwe and Dadizeele ;

ADVANCE IN FLANDERS, SEPT. 28TH-29TH 317

and on the following morning they attempted to advance
with the 88th Brigade to the capture of Gheluwe. This
was the hardest day's fighting yet experienced in the new
offensive, and despite the utmost gallantry neither the
Royal Fusiliers nor the troops on their right could make
much headway. If the advance had been continued at
the pace of the first two days, Lille would have been out-
flanked. The defence was accordingly strengthened on
this sector, and the battalion were relieved at night after
a heavy day.

The 26th Royal Fusiliers had also been brought up to
the Ypres area for the offensive /and advancing without
artillery support at 2 p.m. (28th) from a position about
100 yards west of Canada Tunnels, met with no resistance
worth speaking of, except from snipers, for 3,000 yards.
At this point the battalion faced Green Jacket ridge, where
a stubborn resistance was experienced. On reaching the
crest they encountered a heavy fire, and a counter-attack
was attempted from Dumbarton Wood. But D Company
on the left charged down the slope under Lieutenant H.
Van Der Weyden and broke up the German counter-
attack with very heavy loss. The battalion then resumed
their advance to a line a few hundred yards east of Basse -
ville beek, and on this position the battalion rested that
night, D Company forming a defensive flank on the left.
The advance was resumed on the following day, an hour
after dawn, B and C Companies passing through A and D.
At the outset many casualties were suffered from rifle and
machine-gun fire ; but this did not prevent the battalion
reaching their objective, the road running north-east from
Houthem to the Tenebrielen-Zandvoorde road. At this
stage the 123rd Brigade passed through and advanced
towards Comines, but they were beaten back and retired
through the 124th Brigade's line. The 26th Royal
Fusiliers held their positions that night, and at 2 a.m.
rations came up, and they had their first food for twenty-
four hours. A and D were in the van once more when the
advance began on September 30th. There were numerous

318 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

small and fierce encounters as the battalion moved south-
east, but they reached their objective, the railway about
Godshuis, and posts were pushed out to the Lys. In this
very striking advance of three days the battalion's casual-
ties only totalled 61, killed, wounded and missing. They
spent eight more days in this area, constantly under shell
fire, prepared for anything, before they were relieved.

Towards Cambrai. — The 7th Royal Fusiliers attacked
at 6.30 on the morning of September 30th from positions
east of the Proville-Mt. St. (Euvre road, while two com-
panies of the 23rd Battalion advanced against Mt. St.
(Euvre. It was a very difficult area for attack, and the
7th Battalion, after advancing about 200 yards with the
barrage, were held up by machine-gun fire from the north
and the east. The same reason accounted for the non-
success of A and B Companies of the 23rd Royal Fusiliers.
On the following day the 24th Royal Fusiliers were engaged
in much the same area. To co-operate with the attack of
another division on Rumilly, two companies of the 24th
Battalion were ordered to clear the ground north-east of
the village and establish a line east of the railway. The
attack on Rumilly began at 5.45 p.m., and at 6.30 B Com-
pany, with four platoons in line, advanced close up to the
barrage and rushed the enemy positions. There were two
quarries, honeycombed with dug-outs. B were only 3
officers and 67 other ranks strong at this time, but they
captured over 200 prisoners and 50 machine guns, and the
supporting company were able to pass through and
establish the fine east of the railway with ease. The
position was consolidated after a very striking success.

Le Catelet. — On October 4th the 3rd Royal Fusiliers
again made an appearance on the Western front. They
had arrived at Dieppe on July 14th, and, after resting and
training, had marched up towards the battle zone two
months later as one of the battalions of the 149th Brigade,
50th Division. They marched throughout the night of
October 3rd, and at 6.10 in the morning of the following
day they advanced between Le Catelet and Vendhuile

END OF FIRST PHASE, OCTOBER 5TH 319

upon the redoubt at Richmond Copse. It was not an
advance that one would choose. The battalion had to
move down the slope to the Scheldt Canal and then up a
valley on the opposite side. They were enfiladed on both
flanks, from the neighbourhood of Vendhuile and from Le
Catelet. But they reached their objective at 7.30 a.m.,
and then, finding themselves practically isolated, had to go
back step by step to near their starting point. They had
swept a path clean, taking some 300 prisoners from
machine-gun teams, so that the 4th King's Royal Rifles
could advance over the same ground in the evening with
few casualties ; but they had lost very heavily. Lieut. -
Colonel E. H. Nicholson, D.S.O., Captains R. T. T. C. Chad-
wick and J. M. McLaggan, M.C., R.A.M.C, Captain and
Adjutant W. T. Humphries, Lieutenants E. C. Nepean,
R. A. L. Davies, C. E. P. Cross, B. J. O'Connor and Second
Lieutenant H. Marsh were killed * ; 2 officers were
wounded, and there were 139 other ranks casualties. Few
actions of the Royal Fusiliers had been more tragic.
Many had been more costly, but very few had carried the
troops to their objective only to see them compelled to
fall back almost to the starting point with the bulk of
their leaders killed.

This point forms a natural division in the British offen-
sive. By October 5th the first phase had been completed.
" The enemy's defence in the last and strongest of his
prepared positions had been shattered. The whole of the
main Hindenburg defences had passed into our possession,
and a wide gap had been driven through such near branch
systems as had existed behind them. The effect of the
victory upon the subsequent course of the campaign was
decisive. The threat to the enemy's communications was
now direct and instant, for nothing but the natural
obstacles of a wooded and well-watered countryside lay
between our armies and Maubeuge." f

* This appears to have been the greatest number of officers killed in
any one action of the Royal Fusiliers.
t Despatch.

320 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Second Battle of Le Cateau. — " The second and
concluding phase of the British offensive now opened, in
which the Fourth and Third Armies and the right of the
First Army moved forward with their left flank on the
canal line which runs from Cambrai to Mons, and their
right covered by the First French Army." * The first
stage of the subsequent fighting began with the second
battle of Le Cateau, which was launched on October 8th.

The 7th Royal Fusiliers were in position near Niergnies
on the morning of the battle, and held their position while
the division secured their objectives. During the day
the enemy counter-attacked with tanks ; but the assault
was easily beaten off, and when the battalion left the line
at night they had only suffered three casualties. The
23rd Battalion at the same time attacked and captured
Forenville, and, despite a number of counter-attacks, held
it all day. The 4th Royal Fusiliers, attacking a little to
the south at 4.30 a.m., had gained their objective in less
than two hours, but were ordered to assist the 13th
King's in a further attack on the second objective at
12.40 p.m. The battalion pushed ahead on to the slope
north of Serainvillers, but were there held up by a con-
verging machine-gun and artillery fire. Heavy casualties
were sustained in this position, and the battalion became
too weak to hold on to the forward line. They retired to
the line west of Serainvillers, and at two o'clock the next
morning withdrew to Masnieres to enable the Guard to
take up the attack. Their total casualties were 121
officers and other ranks ; but against this they could set
128 prisoners, thirteen machine guns, and three guns, and
they had so heavily treated the enemy that the Guards
found very little opposition when they advanced.

Both the 10th and 13th Royal Fusiliers attacked on
this day against the Masnieres-Beaurevoir line. The
final objective of the 10th Battalion was the sunken roads
north-west of Hurtebise Farm. The companies moved
off at 4.34 a.m. close to the barrage, and reached the

* Despatch.

13TH BATTALION ENTER BETHENCOURT 321

Beaurevoir line to find the wire not sufficiently cut.
There was some difficulty in passing through, and the
machine-gun posts inside the wire took advantage of the
situation. Two platoons of C Company were left to hold
the Beaurevoir line, and the other companies pressed on
and captured Bel Aise Farm, with a considerable number
of prisoners. A platoon of C were left to complete the
mopping up, and the battalion advanced to their final
objectives, which they reached and held, despite an inter-
mittent bombardment throughout the day. The objec-
tive of the 13th Battalion was Hurtebise Farm, about
two miles north-west of Walincourt. They started under
the handicap of having to fight their way to their jumping-
off line, as Bel Aise Farm and part of the Beaurevoir
system were still incompletely cleared. But they went
forward so rapidly that they were within half a mile of
their objective before the barrage had gone sufficiently
far to check the enemy machine guns on the high ground
south of the farm. But Nos. 2 and 3 Companies pushed
straight on, and at 7.15 a.m. had begun to consolidate
their final position. The enemy's fire compelled them to
withdraw from the south and east sides of the farm
until the 1/1 Herts passed through to Briseux Wood.

On the following day they were ordered to continue the
advance in support of the 1/1 Herts, who reached Ligny
en Cambresis without opposition by 8 a.m. Within less
than two hours the 13th Royal Fusiliers had established a
line on the road right and left of the town. They advanced
once more on October 10th to establish strong points on
the south and east of Caudry, thereby cutting off the town
from the east while the 1st Essex carried out a similar
operation on the west. The battalion met with little
resistance, except from our own tanks, which apparently
did not expect British troops so far east, and from the
barrage, which was late. No. 3 Company, finding no
resistance in their path, pushed forward, captured Bethen-
court and threw out a line of outposts to the east. Lieut. -
Colonel Smith and Major Whitehead had in the mean-

322 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

time entered Caudry, where they were enthusiastically
received by a large number of French people. In these
three days the battalion had covered a considerable
amount of ground, had captured 200 prisoners and some
twenty machine guns. Their total casualties were 116,
including Second Lieutenant E. M. Rees killed, Second
Lieutenant J. Kinahan died of wounds, and 10 officers
wounded. A few days later General H. Bruce Williams,
G.O.C. 37th Division, inspected the battalion, and com-
mended them in words which deserve record : " I am
extremely pleased with the smartness of the battalion
under extremely trying conditions, and also with your
steadiness on parade. The work you have done under all
circumstances since August 21st, when the offensive
opened, has been of the highest order. At present you are
the making of the 112th Brigade. You have served under
me for two years now, and have never failed me or let me
down. I congratulate you."

The 1st Battalion attacked on October nth from Rieux,
but were caught heavily by the enemy barrage while
assembling for attack. This mischance was but the begin-
ning of a series which dogged the steps of the battalion
during the day. The enemy machine-gun fire was so
sustained that the battalion were definitely held up with
heavy loss before reaching the first objective. Rieux lies
in a shallow valley through which the river Ereclin flows.
To advance meant to ascend, and from the high ground
the enemy were prepared for all such ventures. There
were no tanks available ; but a German tank came up as
the battalion were relieving the 73rd Brigade, fired a few
shots and sheered off. During the night the patrols found
that the enemy had retired, and posts were then estab-
lished on the high ground west of Villers en Cauchies and
St. Aubert. Captain J. H. Jacobs, M.C., Second Lieu-
tenant G. B. Wright, and Second Lieutenant R. W. Reed
were killed on this occasion ; 6 officers were wounded,
and there were 125 other ranks casualties.

Flanders. — While the Third and Fourth Armies were

FURTHER ADVANCE IN FLANDERS 323

approaching the Selle River the forces in Flanders were
preparing for another attack, and this was launched on
October 14th. The 2nd Royal Fusiliers, who took part
in this battle, assembled near Ledeghem, and began to
advance at 5.35 a.m. They went straight through the
village, brushing aside the weak resistance in their stride.
The small posts of three or four men here and there were
quickly rushed through the smoke screen. A battery of
field guns was surprised by No. 9 platoon of Y Company
from the flank, and was captured with ease. The enemy
had been so completely taken by surprise that, though
some of the troops carrying the light bridges for the
crossing of the Wulfdambeek lost direction in the smoke
and caused the left flank to cross later than the right, the
objective, the ridge lying north-east of Moorseele, at the
limit of the field artillery barrage, was reached and con-
solidated by 8 a.m. But when the advanced posts were
pushed forward towards the village of Drie Masten, the
troops were caught by machine-gun fire and were com-
pelled to retire to the ridge, where they were shelled by
field guns firing over open sights. In spite of this, the
battalion stood firm until support reached them, and at
length the Dublins and Lancashires advanced from the
ridge. The battalion took 150 prisoners, and captured
twenty machine guns and ten field guns.

The 26th Battalion, attacking in the same action,
fought a confused action north-east of Menin. With the
124th Brigade they were to pass through the 122nd
Brigade, but when the advance began the fog and smoke
made it almost impossible to maintain formation. In
such circumstances the German Army of 1916 would have
taken a terrible toll of the assailants. Fortunately, the
Germans were too weak and too badly shaken at this stage
of the offensive to take full advantage. But in the ob-
scurity small isolated encounters occurred, and the men,
being full of confidence, profited by the chances as they
offered. Second Lieutenant J. Layfield with two men
rushed a field gun, killing the gunner with his revolver. A

y 2

324 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

battery of guns suddenly emerged from the fog at full
gallop. But they were brought up by Lewis-gun and rifle
fire and captured. At length, after several hours of this
over-stimulating experience, the battalion reached Wijn-
berg and were able to reorganise. A smart counter-
attack pushed the men out of the village, but they were
rallied by Captain Spottiswoode, of B Company, and the
village was retaken. The position was consolidated, and
on the following day patrols were sent forward from A and
D Companies to the river Lys. Second Lieutenant J.
Layfield penetrated to Wevelghem, but his patrol suffered
heavy casualties. Posts were, however, established some
500 yards ahead, and that evening the battalion were
relieved. In the day's fighting they had captured about
200 prisoners, fifteen field guns, a number of machine guns
and several horses, while their total casualties were only 78.
To the Scheldt. — The advances in Flanders and on
the front of the Third and Fourth Armies threatened to
turn the Lille-Douai area into a dangerous salient ; and
while the troops operating on these fronts frequently had
to make their way forward against the most bitter resist-
ance, those engaged about Lens found the obstacles
to their advance suddenly smoothed away. The 3rd
Londons and 2/2 Londons and the 9th Royal Fusiliers had
been brought up to this sector of the front before the
beginning of the general offensive, and though the first
two were lightly engaged at Loison, east of Lens, on
October 9th, for the most part their advance eastwards to
the Scheldt was a triumphal progress. The 9th Royal Fusi-
liers had taken up positions east of Vimy on October 7th,
and finding during the night that the German front
line had been evacuated, pushed forward B and C Com-
panies to occupy the enemy positions. Acheville was
cleared on the 9th, and the trenches on the north up to
the railway were occupied. A rearguard counter-attacked
at this point, but it was crushed and a machine gun taken.
The next few days saw an almost uninterrupted advance.
There was a certain amount of resistance in Noyelle-

NINTH BATTALION REACH THE SCHELDT 325

Godault, but by October 13th the battalion had penetrated
to the west bank of the Canal de la Haute Deule. The
battalion rested for a few days at this stage, and on
October 18th began to move eastwards again. It was not
until they reached Rumegies that the battalion came
within sight of the heels of the enemy. At the St. Amand-
Maulde road, which they reached on the same day, October
21st, they came under heavy machine-gun fire. Two
platoons of D Company who attempted to move up the
railway to the Scarpe were held up by machine-gun fire
from Flagnies. The battalion were now in touch with
the 58th Division on the left and the 37th Brigade on the
right ; and they were near the Scheldt, where the enemy
had the advantage of position and where also they must
perforce make some attempt to stand.

But what an extraordinary change had come over the
situation on the Western front ! The Belgian coast was
now in the hands of the Allies, Lille had been evacuated,
and the Allies were now thinking not so much of the
redemption of their territory as of the chances of a decision.

The Selle. — In the centre of the British front the
enemy lay upon the Selle on October 17th, and on this
day the 3rd Royal Fusiliers co-operated in the battle
which opened upon a front of ten miles by an attack
aross the river between Benin and St. Souplet, and after
hard fighting established themselves near the Le Cateau-
Arbre Guernon road, but were beaten back in a counter-
attack in the afternoon. The battalion, now commanded
by Major Trasenster, were only 11 officers and 308 other
ranks strong, and during the day they lost 98 officers and
men.

Courtrai-Bossuyt Canal. — The 2nd Royal Fusiliers
once more attacked on October 20th, north of Courtrai.
About midday they moved off in column of route behind
the Dublins until they were within a few hundred yards
of Esscher, when they deployed in diamond formation of
platoons. They now began to advance almost due south,
Z and X being directed towards the west to fill the open

326 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

flank to the Courtrai-Bossuyt Canal. By 5 p.m. these
two companies had taken up a line covering Kappaart and
Krote after suffering some casualties from farms on the
western and steeper slopes of Banhout Bosch. W Com-
pany lay at St. Louis, in support to the Dublins on their left
rear. On the following day the advance was resumed
through Banhout Bosch ; but, about half-way through, the
companies were held up by the fire from a machine gun
installed in a farm. About 500 yards south of the edge
of the wood Second Lieutenant H. H. Shields managed
to get forward with three Lewis guns into some houses a
few hundred yards to the north-west of the farm, and under
cover of their fire the farm was rushed. In their advance
the men had fired from the hip with good results. A
position was taken up for the night in liaison with the
neighbouring units. There had been very few casualties
in this advance, the resistance being due to a few energetic
men acting as rearguards to the Army. This was the last
appearance of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers in action. They
heard the news of the Armistice at St. Genois.

While the 2nd Royal Fusiliers were advancing on the
eastern side of the Courtrai-Bossuyt Canal on October
21st, the 26th Battalion were operating west of the canal.
The brigade moved forward about 11 a.m. towards the
Laatse Oortie-Hoogstraatje Ridge. On reaching this
point the left battalion, the 10th Queen's, were to turn
half left and seize the canal crossing and the tunnel
beneath. The 26th Royal Fusiliers were to move forward
from support to the position vacated by the Queen's and
then move forward to the Scheldt. Under the most
favourable conditions this involved a considerable advance,
and unfortunately the troops had only reached the ridge
when heavy artillery and machine-gun fire caught them
from the east of the canal. The 26th Battalion could not
advance, despite repeated efforts ; and an attempt by D
Company at night was also checked by unbroken wire and
machine guns. A line was consolidated, and patrols were
sent out ; but the latter found the enemy very vigilant,

24TH BATTALION ENTER VERTAIN 327

and, indeed, the defence on this sector was well maintained
for the next few days. The battalion were relieved on the
night of the 23rd, and when they next attacked towards
the Scheldt, on the 25th, it was in the area east of the canal.
But the battalion had no better luck on this occasion.
The German barrage was very heavy, and the machine-
gun fire so intense that the whole line was held up on the
west of Ooteghem. Lieutenant A. E. Chambers and
Second Lieutenant H. M. Tuck with their platoons
attempted to enter the village from the right, but were
driven back, both officers being mortally wounded. An
attempt was made to rush the windmill on the ridge south-
west of Ooteghem. Lieutenant T. Robinson, of A Com-
pany, was killed in a first gallant dash ; but it was eventually
captured. After further heavy losses, including Lieut. -
Colonel H. A. Robinson, D.S.O., the battalion dug in for
the night. Fighting patrols were pushed forward next
day, but the battalion were relieved before they had
reached the Scheldt, and the battle line saw them no more.
To Mormal Forest. — Meanwhile the Selle positions had
been taken, and the army now opened an attack having for
its objective the general line Valenciennes — western edge
of Mormal Forest-Sambre-Oise Canal. With this advance
the junction of Aulnoye, which links up the Mezieres and
Hirson main line with the Maubeuge, Charleroi and main
lines to Germany, would be brought under effective fire.
The 24th Royal Fusiliers took up positions west of Vertain
on the night of October 22nd, and at 3.30 a.m. D Company
attacked the village, C advancing against the road running
eastward from it an hour later. Both objectives were
gained by 5.10 a.m., though the task of reducing the village
was by no means easy. They captured 250 prisoners and
between fifty and sixty machine guns and much other
booty. They were billeted in the village that night, and
on the next morning the 23rd Royal Fusiliers carried the
line still further forward by the capture of Ruesnes. With
comparatively few casualties they cleared and consolidated
the village, and sent outposts forward to the railway.

328 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

They were assisted in their operations by the 4th Royal
Fusiliers. On the ridge below Ruesnes were numerous
field guns, and when the 4th Battalion crossed the river
Ecaillon at 4.24 on the morning of the 24th, and began
their advance up the slopes of this ridge, they came under
point-blank fire from these guns. Many prisoners, with
light and heavy machine guns, had already been captured ;
and with a concerted Lewis-gun fire the German gunners
were put to flight, and three field guns were taken. The
battalion then continued their advance to the final
objective, the western end of the Ruesnes- Le Quesnoy
road. Their left flank lay just off the road from the north-
eastern corner of Ruesnes to the railway. The battalion
were very weak, and all four companies were in the line.
The 4th Battalion with their brigade thereafter held the
main line of resistance until relief, the 8th Brigade pushing
on to gain touch with the retreating enemy.

The nth Battalion attacked in the moonlight at
1.20 a.m. from the railway embankment north-east of
Le Cateau ; and, being the second wave, came under a
very heavy bombardment as they advanced after the
Bedfords. At the outset they had to move in single
file across a narrow footbridge ; and, as a heavy barrage
was playing upon it, there was a certain amount of
nervousness. Captain Horn feck at once pushed forward
and stood calmly at this danger spot until all the men
were across. In the half-light, the Bedfords halted about
500 yards short of their objective, and on this line the
nth Royal Fusiliers passed through, Captain Hornfeck's
company reaching their objective near the Epinette
Farm road. But in this position they were isolated and
were under fire from both flanks. After two hours of
this ordeal they were compelled to fall back to the ridge
above the road, where they found the other companies ;
and the 55th Brigade passed through their line at 7.30 a.m.
The battalion were about two companies strong by this
time, but they had alone captured eleven field guns and a
considerable number of prisoners.

THE ECAILLON CROSSED 329

The attack was resumed on the next morning, and again
there was some confusion in the darkness, as a consequence
of which the Royal Fusiliers became involved in the
fighting before they reached the line on which they were
to pass through the Northants. They had to beat off a
German counter-attack at Bousies Wood Farm, and when
they were able to advance they found the ridge in front
of them swept with machine-gun fire. A pause was made
in order that the position might be further treated by
artillery ; but the barrage, when it came down, caused a
number of casualties in our own ranks. Lieutenant E. L.
Moody had become the commanding officer of three
companies. He reorganised them when held up ; and,
freely exposing himself under machine-gun fire, he was
more than a little responsible for the battalion's final
advance. Lieutenant P. E. Tyler also showed outstanding
courage, and although shot through the lungs, continued
in the direction of his company for some three hours until
he collapsed. At night the troops held a position near
the Robersart-Englefontaine road.

On the second day (24th) of the battle the 13th Royal
Fusiliers attacked from the north of Salesches, the way
having been cleared up to this point in a spirited attack
of the 10th Battalion on the preceding day. Some
casualties were caused by the enemy bombardment as
the troops were assembling, and, in the darkness, there
was a certain amount of confusion and lack of direction ;
but at length the battalion advanced, No. 3 Company and
two platoons of No. 2 forming a defensive flank on the
right against the enemy, who were still holding the high
ground south-west of Salesches station. Shortly after
5.30 a.m. the left company (No. 4) were held up by wire.
The advance was resumed at seven o'clock, and the
Ecaillon was crossed, the two platoons on the left wading
across some 500 yards from the western edge of Ghissignies.
In the village a few prisoners were captured and added to
the collection, which had been steadily growing from the
beginning of the advance. East of Ghissignies heavy fire

330 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

was experienced from a chapel, and the leading platoon

of No. i Company were wiped out. The left company

were also held up by machine guns, and when they were

reduced to a strength of 40, they were withdrawn and

moved north-east to the orchard beyond the road. No. 1

Company retired to the main line in front of the village,

and at 6 p.m. the line was consolidated. On the following

day the battalion attempted to push forward once more,

but were held up near the De Beart Farm. The battalion

were relieved at 9 p.m. on this day, and received the

congratulations of the divisional commander for their

" fine work." With 120 prisoners and numerous guns

and trench mortars and an advance of about 5,000 yards

to their credit, they deserved congratulations ; but they

had lost 108 officers and men and were now reduced to

11 officers and 269 other ranks.

* * * *

The war was now ringing to a close. The Royal
Fusilier battalions who had been engaged in constant
battles since the opening of the offensive on August 8th
were many of them worn to the shadow of their former
selves. The wastage in officers had been terribly high ;
and yet, filled out with drafts, frequently young men of
little training, they appeared in the fighting line once
again. The astonishing thing is that they entered battle
with the flair of the expert and were prepared for all risks.
The last battle was now to be fought. Germany's allies
had all forsaken her, and she had herself abandoned every
fiction and requested an armistice.

The Battle of the Sambre. — At dawn on Novem-
ber 4th the First, Third and Fourth Armies struck from
the Sambre, north of Oisy, to Valenciennes. On the left
flank of the attack the 4th Londons crossed the river
Aunelle at Sebourg and then turned northward to Sebour-
quiaux and cleared it of machine guns. A Company, on
the left, were unable to secure touch with the Canadians,
and came under heavy machine-gun fire from Rombies ;
but when Sebourquiaux was cleared they were able to

STRUGGLE ON THE HONNELLE 331

advance to the Aunelle. The main bridge had been
destroyed, but they crossed by a footbridge and formed a
defensive flank across the river. On the right the bat-
talion were in touch with the Queen's Westminsters,
but on the left their flank was still in the air. They were
relieved the next morning on these positions, and other
battalions of the division carried the line forward. At
midnight on the 5th the 2nd Londons relieved the London
Rifle Brigade, and suffered heavy casualties in moving
into position. On the following morning they advanced
after the barrage across a deep ravine, covered with thick
undergrowth, to the Honnelle. The river was at this time
swollen with the recent rains, and its steep wooded sides
formed admirable cover for the German machine guns.
C and D Companies reached and crossed the river, but,
both flanks being in the air, were almost surrounded, and
had to fall back to the western side. A and B also forced
their way across and advanced to the railway at the edge
of the Bois de Beaufort. But beyond this the ground
was swept by machine guns, and the flanking battalions
could not be located. The Germans pressed round their
left flank, but were put to flight by a bayonet charge.
Another party of the enemy got through the wood to the
rear of the detachment, and the officer in charge called
out, " Hands up ! " Half of the small detachment delivered
another bayonet charge in reply. It was obvious that to
recross such a river under such pressure was an extremely
difficult operation ; yet, under the direction of Captain
Rowlands, M.C., the detachments retired, taking their
wounded with them. The battalion reorganised along
their assembly positions and were relieved in the evening,
after a total loss of 5 officers and 107 other ranks, sustained
in attempting an operation that no troops in the world
of equal strength could have carried out.

The 1st Royal Fusiliers attacked on November 5th,
advancing from Jenlain, and on the high ground east of
Wargnies le Grand, passing through the 73rd Brigade.
After an advance of about 5,000 yards the troops came

332 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

into contact with the enemy about 1,000 yards west of
the Hogneau stream, which casts a wide loop about Bavai,
to the east. At this point there was considerable machine-
gun fire, and the barrage put down did not affect the
position. The battalion therefore held their ground for
the night. At dawn on November 6th the battalion
advanced, but were held up on the east bank of the river,
as all attempts to carry the high ground to the east proved
unsuccessful. The German rearguards were very stubborn
on this part of the front. The next day the 3rd Rifle
Brigade passed through the battalion, who on the 8th
went into billets at Bavai, where they still lay on Novem-
ber nth.

On the 37th Division front both the 13th and the 10th
Royal Fusiliers were engaged. The latter were to pass
through the 13th King's Royal Rifles, who were to mop
up the village of Louvignies and advance to a line about
500 yards to the east. At this point the 10th Royal
Fusiliers were to pass through and advance about 1,000
yards. At five o'clock in the morning all companies were
in position on the railway, on which shells had been fall-
ing throughout the night. Lieutenant A. N. Usher, M.C.,
commanding A Company, was killed at this point. Half
an hour later the companies, advancing under the barrage,
encountered several machine-gun posts, which they
reduced. D Company went through the village, killing or
taking prisoner all the Germans met with, and the battalion
reached their objective in schedule time. About 8 p.m. that
night they went back to Beaurain after a finished little
engagement in which, for a total loss of 52 officers and
men, they had captured 300 prisoners, three field guns,
a motor lorry and a large number of machine guns.

The 13th Battalion were to pass through the Essex on
the Red Line, nearly 3,000 yards further east, on the edge
of the forest. In Ghissignies at 7.35 a.m. they came
under heavy fire, and machine-gun bullets were whistling
across the road. The companies were halted outside
Louvignies for the Essex to come up, and at 9.40 this

THROUGH MORMAL FOREST 333

battalion had passed through. After crossing the
Louvignies-Le Quesnoy road under fire at 10.45 a.m.,
they lost touch with both flanks owing to the enclosed
nature of the ground. About noon B Company was
moving after the Essex through Jolimetz and helping to
mop it up ; and A Company, after helping the Essex to
reduce a machine-gun pocket south-west of the village,
was moving forward towards the Red Line. At 3.45 p.m.,
after surmounting the difficulties of assembling owing
to the thick undergrowth, the companies began to enter
the forest. It was already growing dark. There was a
spasmodic machine-gun fire down the railway and the
laies, and the battalion made but slow progress. They
were only about the strength of a full company, and the
German Army a year before would have made a jest of
dealing with such a force in the forest. At 6 p.m. four
platoons had reached the cross-roads about the railway,
where a machine gun was captured and the team killed ;
and had formed a strong point there. Posts were thrown
out to the cross-roads about 500 yards to the south-west,
where contact was made with the 8th Somerset Light
Infantry. Platoon No. 9 of B Company was out of touch.
This platoon, under Sergeant W. Green, M.M., had with
great daring pushed on through the wood in complete
darkness to the point where the Villereau-Berlaimont
road is crossed by two other roads. At this point on
November 4th the continuous area of standing trees
ended, though there were other considerable patches of
standing trees about 4,000 yards to the east. The
platoon, completely isolated, dug in, patrolling for 1,000
yards to the east, and held on until morning, when the
5th Division passed through. The rest of the battalion,
nearly 1,000 yards distant on the right rear, could find no
troops on their left. Sergeant Green's platoon, in fact,
was the only unit for at least 1,000 yards north and south
which reached the dotted Red Line.* By 5.30 a.m. on

* So far as I can discover, it was the most easterly post held that night
on the British front. Sergeant Green was awarded the D.C.M.

334 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

November 5th the battalion were on this line, and when
they were passed by the 5th Division they went back to
Le Rond Quesne.

At 6.15 in the morning of the 4th the nth Royal
Fusiliers attacked Preux au Bois. A composite company
with the Bedfords and a company of the 6th Northants
moved from a position north of the village already taken
by the rest of the Northants, while the rest of the nth
Battalion demonstrated from the west. By eight o'clock
the composite company (C and D) were in position to
clear the village from the north. Captain Hope, com-
manding this company, although held up by machine-gun
nests and the breakdown of the tank which was to deal
with them at the beginning of the attack, eventually
" succeeded in breaking through with some 20 men.
Without waiting for the remainder, he at once pushed on
with such effect that he succeeded in clearing up the
whole area, capturing over twenty machine guns and
some 200 prisoners, including 5 officers. The success
of the attack in this area was entirely due to his leadership
and determination, while the example of coolness and
courage he gave was beyond all praise."* By 11 a.m.
other battalions were pushing ahead, and the nth Royal
Fusiliers' work was done.

On the morning of November 4th the 3rd Royal
Fusiliers took up assembly positions astride the Fontaine
au Bois-Landrecies road, about 1,000 yards south-east
of the village of Fontaine. The weather was damp and
misty, and when the battalion advanced about 500 yards
the leading companies were out of touch, and the support
company went up to rill the gap. It was about this
point that the 13th Royal Highlanders were held up
on the Englefontaine road. The German machine-gun
defence was very elaborate on this sector of the front,
and without the co-operation of the tanks it is difficult
to see how it could have been crushed by such light forces.
About 8 a.m. the Scottish Horse were across the road,

* Official account. He was awarded the D.S.O

ADVANCE OF THE THIRD BATTALION 335

and the 3rd Royal Fusiliers, who had been mopping up a
few houses on their front, resumed the advance. The
village of Les Etoquies was reached and cleared, and by
about 11.30 the Red Line was reached and the objective
consolidated. The Red Line lay some 3,000 yards from
the starting point and about 1,500 yards from the Sambre.
The outposts of the battalion extended to about half the
distance to the river. The total casualties for the day
were 120 officers and men, including Captain Murray
Large, who was killed on the tape line. Field guns,
machine guns, wagons and horses were among the captures.

The troops reached Hachette Farm, north of the rail-
way near the Maroilles road, at 5 p.m. on November 5th,
and spent the night there. On the following day the
battalion began to follow up the retreating Germans,
crossing the Sambre below Hachette Farm and advancing
through Laval. Little opposition was encountered, and
when in the evening two Germans, fully equipped, were
met with on the road, they were so surprised that they
screamed with fright. At 8.30 p.m. on the 7th the 3rd
Battalion were in billets at St. Remy Chauss6e when an
order was received that deserves record : " If German
officer bearing a flag of truce presents himself at any point
of British front, he will be conducted to the nearest
divisional headquarters and detained there pending
instructions from G.H.Q."

This was welcome news. Weariness was almost the
chief handicap of the time. The transport animals were
in poor condition owing to overwork, and still there was
not enough transport. Blankets and great-coats had been
dumped at Fontaine for this reason, and on November 7th
wagons were sent for them. The roads were very heavy
and much damaged by mines.

* * * *

On November 8th the 7th Battalion were heavily
engaged. On the preceding day they had moved through
Sebourquiaux, taken on November 4th by the Londons,
and at noon on the 8th they moved along the Andregnies-

336 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Witheries road without opposition, but met heavy machine-
gun and trench-mortar fire before Offignies. After a brisk
fight the enemy fell back, after inflicting five casualties.
The battalion advanced again on November 9th, carried
the Montroeul wood and the Eugies-Sars La Bruyere road,
and reached a position on the road from Quevy le Petit to

the Mons-Maubeuge road.

* * * *

The 3rd Royal Fusiliers advanced to Mont Dourlers on
the 8th under heavy machine-gun fire, and amid the sounds
of exploding mines which told their tale of continued
retirement. Patrols on this evening were sent to the
western edge of the forest of Beugnies. Before dawn on
the following day the patrols began to push through the
forest. On the left they came under machine-gun fire,
but the centre company were through the wood by 5 a.m.
A few hours later the battalion were withdrawn to Mont
Dourlers to billets, thoroughly exhausted, but pleased with
having seen the last of the enemy in the war.

On November 10th the 7th Battalion reached the
Nouvelles-Harveng road with little difficulty at 8.30 a.m.
The 188th Brigade went through them at this post, and in
the afternoon the battalion proceeded to Harveng and
billeted there for the night. They were still in this village,
a few miles south of Mons, when the Armistice took effect
the next morning. On November 15th 5 officers and 180
other ranks embussed to Mons and took part in the formal
entry of the First Army commander.

The 4th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th Battalions went
into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. The
long-drawn-out war had come to an end. The individual
share of any regiment in the final victory it were unwise
to estimate. But at least it may be said in a final survey
of the achievement of the Royal Fusiliers in Egypt, in
Africa, in the Balkans, and on the main Western front,
that everywhere they showed themselves worthy of the
traditions they inherited, in fine, a very gallant company.

APPENDIX

THE ROLL OF HONOUR

OFFICERS OF THE ROYAL FUSILIERS

Adams, Ernest Frederick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 22/6/17.
Adams, Ralph Newton, M.C., Capt., k. in a., 10/10/16 (7/Bn., att.

R.F.C., 23/Sq.).
Addis, David Malcolm, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., d. of w., 9/6/17.
Aldrick, Charles Pelham, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Allen, Archibald Stafford, Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/10/15.
Anderson, William Francis, Capt., d. of w., 10/12/15.
Andrews, Alan Charles Findlay, 2/Lt., 16/Bn., k. in a., 29/6/15.
Andrews, John Leonard, M.M., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 19/5/18.
Anketell, C. E., 2/Lt., killed, 11/5/18 (R.A.F.).
Annesley, Albemarle Cator, D.S.O., Lt.-Col. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w.,

8/7/16.
Anstice, John Spencer Ruscombe, Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 2/5/15.
Anthony, Clarence Case, Capt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., d. of w., 15/12/15.
Aris, Thomas Arthur, Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 16/4/17.
Armstrong, Christopher, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/4/16 (14/Bn., att. 6/N. Lan. R.).
Armstrong, John Owen, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 15/7/16.
Arnold, A. C. P., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 18/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Arnould, Derek Clement, Lt., died, 7/5/18 (4/Bn., att. R.T.E.).
Aspden, Ronald William, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., d. of w., 8/8/17.
Astley, Aston Giffard, Major (Tp\), k. in a., 1/10/16 (att. M.G. Corps).
Astwood, Edward Leicester Stuart, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 20/9/16.
Attwood, Algernon Foulkes, Capt., k. in a., 8/10/14.
Ayres, Victor Albert, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 1/9/18.
Ayrton, Frank Frederick Joseph, Capt., 16/Bn., k. in a., 28/6/15.
Backlake, Brian Ashber, Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Badenoch, Ian Forbes Clark, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., died, 19/3/17.
Baker, Bertram Reginald, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/16.
Baker, John Bartrup Harwood, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 1/9/1.
Balbirnie, John Victor Elphinstone, 2/Lt., 23/Bn., k. in a., 7/9/18.
Bambridge, Rupert Charles, D.S.O., M.C., M.M., Capt. (Tp.), 10/Bn.,

d. of w., 23/5/18.
Bambridge, William Herbert, Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 24/Bn., k. in a.,

19/8/17-
Banister, Charles Wilfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/6/15.
Banks, Edward Francis, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 28/2/17.
Bantock, Arthur Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., d. of w., 23//11/15.
Barber, George, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 16/Bn., k. in a., 3/10/16.
Barker, Hugh Edwin, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., died, 31/1/18.
Barnes, Edward James, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., d. of w., 4/5/18.
Barnes, Vincent Kendall, 2/Lt., 24/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Barnes, Wilfred Oliver, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 18/11/16.
Barnett-Barker, R., D.S.O., Brig.-Gen., 22,/Bn., k. in a., 25/3/18.
Barnett, Bret Hercules, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.
Barnett, Herbert William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Barrell, Victor Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), n/Bn., k. in a., 22/8/18.
Barrett, Keith Joy, Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., d. of w., 16/4/17.

F- Z

338 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Barrow, Hector Henry, 2/Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 20/10/15.

Barten, Donald, 2/Lt., 8 Bn., k. in a., 30/1 1/17.

Barton, Frank Hubert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 5/11/18 (att. T.M.B.).

Barton, Kenneth Cyril, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9 Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Barton, Stanley Ernest, 2/Lt., k. in a. 31/7/17.

Batty-Smith, F. C, Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 4/6/16.

Baugh, Charles, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 5/4/18.

Bayly, Harry Ayrton, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 14/6/17.

Bayley, Reginald John, 2/Lt., 13/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.

Beale, Ernest Frederick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., k. in a., 28/4/17.

Beausire, Herbert Arthur William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/3/15.

Bentley, Howard Lidyard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 28/2/17.

Berrill, Bernard Francis Gotch, Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 1 7/3/1 5.

Berry, A. L., 2/Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.

Bescoby, Edgar Laurence, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., d. of w., 18/6/17.

Bettesworth, Tom, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 3/11/15 (12/Bn., att. R.E.
172/Fld. Coy.).

Betts, Henry Lee, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.

Bevir, R., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 15/7/16.

Bingham, Frank Oldfield, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 14/9/18.

Birchall, Arthur Percival, Capt. (T/Lt.-Col.), k. in a., 24/4/15 (att. Can.
Div.).

Bird, Clement Eustace, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 28/6/17.

Bird, Eric Hinckes, Lt., d. of w., 27/6/16 (i/Bn., att. R.F.C., 25/Sq.).

Bishop, Charles Frederick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 4/4/18.
Black, George Dudley Austin, Lt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., k. in a., 21/6/16.

Blackwell, Charles, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/15.

Blackwell, Cyril, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 16/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Blackwell, William Gordon, Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 5/10/16.

Bleaden, Lionel, Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 6-9/7/16.

Boddy, G. G. D., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.

Bolland, Frederick William Henry, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 7/6/17.

Bond, William Henry Hugh, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 22/6/17.

Booth, John, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Bott, William Ernest, Capt. (Tp.), 9/Bn.), k. in a., 18/9/18.

Bourne, Leonard Cecil, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., d. of w., 14/8/17.

Bourne, S. M., Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 4-5/4/16 (8/Bn., att. 8/R.W. Fus.).

Bowden-Smith, Walter A. C, Capt., d. of w., 28/8/14.

Bower, Frederic William, Capt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 8/3/18.

Bracey, Frederick Sidney, Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.

Brand, Ernest Stanley, Capt., k. in a., 8/10/14 (and W.A. Rifs.).

Brandreth, Lyall, Major, k. in a., 4/6/15.

Bray, George Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., d. of w., 26/10/17.

Brickland, Charles Hampton, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25/3/15.

Bridgman, William Louis, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., d. of w., 20/9/17.

Bright, Francis John, 2/Lt., 32/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.

Broad, A. M. Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 12/7/16 (15/Bn., att. M.G.C.).

Brodie, Sidney Edward, 2/Lt. (Tp), 17/Bn., d. of w., 17/4/17.

Brown, Frederick Arthur, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.

Brown, John Gordon, M.C., Capt., k. in a., 5/10/18 (att. 47 Div., Arty

H.Q.).
Brinkworth, W. H., Lt., k. in a., 4/8/18 (R.A.F.).
Bruce, Wallace Edward, Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Buckland, C. J., 2/Lt., died, 19/8/18 (R.A.F.).
Bulbeck, Henry Edmund, Lt. (Tp.), 16/Bn., k. in a., 6/11/16.
Bull, Percival John, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Bullock, Robert, Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Bullock, William Acton, 2/Lt., died, 25/10/18 (att. 2/17 Lond. R.).
Bungev, Gerald Edwards, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.
Burdett, C. P. B., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9 Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 339

Burdett, William Allan, M.C., A/Capt., i/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.

Burgess, Eric Archibald, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 1 7/2/1 7.

Burgess, Reginald Charles, 2/Lt., 23/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.

Burnham, Andrew William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 15/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.

Burton, Charles William Gordon, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 22/1 1/1 7.

Bushell, R. H. C, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 27/7/16.

Butchard, Robert Archibald, Lt. (Tp.), 31/Bn., k. in a., 5/11/16.

Butterworth, Edward Cyril, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 21/11/17.

Byng, Arthur Maitland, Capt., k. in a., 14/9/14.

Calthrop, Alfred Gordon, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.

Calwell, Theophilus Legate, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Campbell, Charles, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., d. of w., 20/4/18.

Campbell, Frederick Charles, 2/Lt., (Tp.), 17/Bn., k. in a., 24/3/18.

Campbell, Ronald Walter Francis, Capt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 11/8/16.

Cane, Leonard Dobbie, Capt. and Adj. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 24/1/16.

Carey, Francis Ambrose, 2/Lt., 32/Bn., k. in a., 15/9/16.

Carey, Leicester William le Marchant, Capt., k. in a., 17/10/14.

Carmichael, David Arthur, Lt., k. in a., 1 7/4/18 (3/Bn., att. M.G. Corps).

Carpenter, Clarence, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 1 7/2/1 7.

Carr, James Walter, M.C., D.C.M., Lt., died, 16/11/18 (23/Bn., att. 99

T.M.B.).
Carter, Ernest Lionel, M.M., 2/Lt., 13 Bn., k. in a., 24/10/18.
Case, Joseph, Lt., d. of w., 15/11/18 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Chambers, Alfred Ernest. M.C., Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 29/10/18.
Champion, Sydney George, Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 17/3/17 (5/Bn., att. 2/K.

Afr. Rifs., P.O.W.).
Chapman, Donald John Stuart, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 13/7/16.
Chard, Robert Alexander Farmer, Capt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 8/7/16.
Chatham, George Henry. 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 23/1 1/16.
Chell, Harold, Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 10/8/15.
Cheshire, Eric Corveroy, Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Christie, Murray Inglis, D.S.O., 2/Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 32/Bn., d. of w.,

34/3/iS-
Chuter, Harry Athelstan, Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 25/3/17 (and R.F.C.,

70/Sq.).
Clapton, Arthur, 2/Lt., 32/Bn., k. in a., 5/9/16.
Clark, Arthur James Richard, Lt., 8/Bn., d. of w., 9/10/16.
Clarke, Edward George, Lt. (T./Capt.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.
Clifford, Watling Wallis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 12/10/17.
Coates, W. F., Capt., d. of w., 30/4/15 (6/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Cocker, Arthur Wilfred Kingsley, 2/Lt., 17/Bn., k. in a., 30/1 1/17.
Coggin, Algernon Oswald, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 27/10/6.
Cohen, Edward, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Cole, Mowbray Lyster Stanley Owen, Capt., died, 14/9/14.
Cole, Wilfred Samuel, Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., died, 11/5/16.
Coley, Joseph Alfred, 2/Lt. (A/Capt.), k. in a., 22/3/18 (5/Bn., att.

4/Bn.).
Collings, Sydney Walter, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 20/4/18.
Collis-Sandes, Maurice, James, Capt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 1 7/2/1 7.
Combe, Boyce Anthony, Lt., k. in a., 11/11/14 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Compton, Harold A., Lt.-Col. (Tp.), 12/Bn., d. of w., 7/7/17.
Consterdine-Chadwick, Robert Thompson Consterdine, Lt. (Tp.)

(A/Capt.), k. in a., 4/10/18 (17/Bn., att. 3/Bn.).
Cook, Arthur Basil Kemball, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Cook, S. Frank, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 5/8/17.
Cooper, Frederick Edmund, Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 18/12/18.
Cooper, Henry Weatherley Frank, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., d. of w., 28/4/17.
Cooper, William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Coppack, Charles Richard Stewart, 2/Lt., d. of w., 24/3/18 (22/Bn., att.

24/Bn.).

z 2

340 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Coppard, William John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., d. of w., 23/3/18.

Corben, Victor Leslie, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., died, 22/7/18.

Core, Charles Gooch, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.

Corlett, Douglas Stephen, T/Lt. (A/Capt.), 3/Bn., d. of w., 12/11/18.

Cornaby, C. Ernest, M. C. Capt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., d. of w., 23/9/18.

Cornes, Henry Percy Griffiths, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 27/9/17 (23/Bn., att.

99/T.M.B.).
Coull, Frederick, 2/Lt. (T/Lt.), k. in a., 30/9/18 (att. 23/Bn.).
Coventry, Eric, 2/Lt. (Tp., 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Cowell, J. G., 2/Lt., killed, 28/1/18 (att. R.F.C.).
Cowie, Gerald James Hardwicke, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Cowie, Lionel Jack Hardwicke, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 24/4/17.
Cox, Cecil Arthur, Capt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 16/10/16.
Cox, Henry Jack, Capt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Coxhead, Maurice Edward, Capt. (T/Major), 9/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Crabb, Thomas Henry, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 1 8/3/10.
Crampton, Edgar Walter, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/10/17 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Croal, Kenneth McFarlane, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 19/10/18 (att. 2/10 R.

Scots).
Crook, William George, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 9/3/18.
Crookes, Ronald Orme, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 4/6/16.
Cross, Christopher Edric Percy, Lt., 3/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/18.
Crowe, Hugh Parby, Lt., drowned, 28/10/15.

Curwen, Wilfred John Hutton, Capt., k. in a., 9/5/15 (6/Bn., att. 3/Bn.).
Cuthbert, David, Capt. (Tp.), k. in a., 7/10/16 (29/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Dadd, Reginald John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 5/4/18.
Daines, Allan Edward, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/12/17.
Daines, Roland Lewis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 3/8/17.
Daniell, George Francis Blackburne, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/4/17 (6/Bn., att.

2/Bn.).
Darker, Richard Owen, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 12/4/18.
V.C. Dartnell, Wilbur, Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., k. in a., 3/9/15-
Davies, Donald Frederick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 15/4/18 (22/Bn., att.

23/Bn.).
Davies, Roland Arthur L., Lt. (Tp.), 3/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/18.
Davies, William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 10/4/17.
Davis, George Leith Blakeman, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 27/9/18.
Davison, Robert Charles, 2/Lt., d. of w., 19/5/17 (5/Bn., att. 4 Bn.).
Dawson, Frederick Charles Blakeman, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 3/5/17 (11/Bn.,

att. R.A.C.).
Day, Frederick Charles, Capt., k. in a., 31/7/17 (att. 12/Bn.).
Day, Hubert Francis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.
Day, Hubert Victor, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 9/4/17-
V.C. Dease, Maurice James, Lt., k. in a., 23/8/14.
De Beck, George Clifford, 2/Lt. (Tp ), 23/Bn., k. in a., 18/2/17.
De Trafford, Ralph Edric Galfrid Antony, Lt., k. in a., 25/4/15.
De Trafford, Thomas Cecil, Capt., k. in a., 10/11/14.
Dilnutt, Eric William, Lt. (T/Capt), 8/Bn., k. in a., 2/3/16.
Disnev, Arthur William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 30/1 1/1 7.
Dixon", Robert William, M.M., 2/Lt., (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 5/9/18.
Docker, George Arthur Murray, Capt., k. in a., 17/11/14.
Done, Neville Savage, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/3/17 (6/Bn., att. 22/Bn.).
Doudney, Hugh Denham, A/Capt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Douglas-Crompton, Sidney Harold Lionel, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 7/6/17.
Downing, Ernest Gillespie, Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Drinkill, Frederick Maurice, Lt., 2/Bn., d. of w., 1/7/16.
Drummond, Samuel Frederick, 2/Lt., 17/Bn., k. in a., 29/7/17.
Dudley, Leonard Thomas, M.C., Lt., 10/Bn., d. of w., 8/10,18.
Dudley, Walter Joseph, Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 16/6/15.
Du Maurier, Guy Louis Busson, D.S.O., Lt.-Col., k. in a., 10/3/15.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 341

Dunnington-Jefferson, Wilfred Mervyn, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22-29/4/15 (7/Bn.,

att. 3/B11.).
Dunwell, Frederick Leslie, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 4/1/16.
Dupres, Ernest Cruzick, T/Lt. (A/Capt.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 29/8/18.
Dutch, Ernest James, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 6/1/17 (14/Bn., att. 25/7/Bn.).
Eagar, Rowland Tallis, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/8/18 (att. 9/Bn.).
Eames, William Stanley, Lt., d. of w., 16/2/16 (7/Bn., att. 12/Bn.).
Eathorne, Francis John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 21/7/16.
Eborall, John Arthur, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., d. of w., 25/2/17.
Echlin, Frederick St. John Ford North, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., d. of w., 27/9/16

(and R.F.C.).
Ede, Edwin William, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), A/Capt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 30/8/18.
Edwards, Albert John, 2/Lt., T./Lt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 2/8/17.
Edwards, Guy Thulkeld, Capt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/16-
Edwards, Leslie Edward, M.C., Capt. (Tp.), d. of w., 6/1 2/1 7 (6/Bn., att.

8/Bn.).
Edwards, Wilfred William, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w., 22/1/17.
Elliott, Walter, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.
V.C. Elliott-Cooper, Neville Bowes, D.S.O., M.C., Lt.-Col. (Tp.),

8/Bn., d. of w., 11/2/18 (in German hands).
Enderby, Arthur Aaron, Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., d. of w., 2/8/17.
Etheridge, Hugh Dimsdale, M.C., M.M., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w„

2/10/18.
Evans, James Bansall, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/8/16.
Evans, Lawrence Picton, Lt., k. in a., 21/8/18 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Farquharson, Peere William Nesham, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Featherstonhaugh, G. R. A., Capt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 8/7/16.
Fergusson, Robert Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/4/17 (6/Bn., att. 17/Bn.).
Ferrier, Gilbert Colin Cunninghame, 2/Lt., k. in a., 11/11/14 (7/Bn., att.

4/Bn.).
Fetherstonhaugh, Harry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25-27/10/14.
Field, Arthur Clarence Henley, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 4/4/16 (14/Bn., att.

4/S.W. Borderers).
Field, William James, M.C., 2/Lt., i/Bn., k.in a-, 31/7/17.
Fielding, Alexander, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 26/10/18 (att.

124/L.T.M.B.).
Fisher, Percy Watkins, 2/Lt., 22/Bn., k. in a., 1 2/9/16.
Fitch, Louis C, 2/Lt. (Tp.), i/Bn., k. in a., 28/7/18.
Fitton, Norman, 2/Lt., k. in a., 14/11/6 (7/Bn., att. 22/Bn.).
Fitzclarence Augustus Arthur Cornwallis, Capt., k. in a., 28/6/15.
Flack, Wilfred George, M.C., Lt., d. of w., 7/9/17.
Fletcher, Arthur Joseph, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 33/4/17.
Fletcher, Robert Henry, Lt. (Tp.), 14/Bn., k. in a., 27/7/16.
Ford, A., 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/5/x5-
Ford, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., died, 16/6/16.
Ford, Richard Nagle, M.C., Capt. (T/Major), k. in a., 6/1/18.
Forster, Frederick Albert, Capt., d. of w., 23/8/15.
Forster, Herbert Cyril, Capt., k. in a., 25/5/15.
Forster, John, M.C., Capt. (A/Major), 7/Bn., d. of w., 2/10/18.
Forsyth, Gordon Amhurst, 2/Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 27/8/16.
Foster, Edward, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Fowler, Charles Jefford, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., d. of w., 1/6/16.
Fox, Charles Joseph, 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/6/16 (16/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Francis, William Joseph, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Franklin, Francis, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/15.
Franklyn, Henry, Capt. (Tp.), 8/Bn.), k. in a., 8/7/16.
Fraser, Donald Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17 (5/Bn., att. 9/Bn.).
Freston, Charles Albert Edward, 2/Lt., d. of w., 25/3/18 (5/Bn., att.

23/Bn.).
Friedberger, William Sigismund, Capt., k. in a., 24/5/15 (3/Bn., att. 5/Bn. \

342 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Fripp, Joseph, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., died, 12/3/18.

Fugeman, William Alfred, Capt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 1/12/17.

Fuller, Dunstan Milley, M.C., Capt. (Tp.), n/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.

Fuller, Morris Richard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 11/4/17.

Gaddum, R. Charles Sydney, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., k. in a., 10/9/16.

Gardiner, C. T., 2/Lt., d. of w., 1/6/15.

Gardiner, Kenneth Edward MacAlpine, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/10/15 (14/Bn.,

att. 8/Bn. Lond. Regt.).
Garnons-Williams, Richard Davie, Lt.-Col., 12/Bn., k. in a., 25/9/15.
Garrad, Edward Victor, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 22/1/16 (14/Bn., att.

6/N.Lan. R.).
Garratt, Leslie Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., d. of w., 3/7/16.
Gibson, Pendarves Christopher Foil, Lt. (Tp.), I3/Bn., k. in a., 10/4/17.
Gilbert, Edward Burton, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., k. in a., 21/3/18.
Gilbert, John Ewart, Capt. (Tp.), died, 6/11/18.
Gilbert, L. S., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 4/4/16 (13/Bn., att. 8/R.W. Fus.).
Gill, Colin, 2/Lt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.

Gjems, Albert Ole Moller, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/8/17 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Goddard, Frederick Sidney, 2/Lt , 4/Bn., k. in a., 15/12/17.
Goddard, Philip Henry Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 26/9/16.
Godfrey, Frederick, 2/Lt. (T/Capt.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 16/8/16.
Goff, Alfred Laurence, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 16/1/17 (14/Bn., att. 6/L.N.

Lanes) .
Goldthorp, Guy, Capt, (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Goodman, P. N., Capt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 3/3/16.
Goolden, Donald Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/8/16 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Gonne, M. E., M.C., Capt., k. in a., 7/8/18 (and R.A.F.).
Gordon, Alexander Maurice, Lt., k. in a., 23/1/16.
Gordon, Gerald Montague, Capt. (Tp.), k. in a., 9/6/17 (5/Bn., att.

12/Bn.).
Gordon, S. E., Lt., k. in a., 13/3/15 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Gorst, E. W., 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 25/10/14.
Gosling, Frederick Horace, 2/Lt., 32/Bn., k. in a , 7/6/17.
Grady, Walter Henry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/4/15 (att. 3/Bn.).
Granville, Basil Raymond, 2/Lt. (A/Capt.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Gray, Hubert McKenzie, A/Capt., n/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.
Gray, John Hunter Wood, T/Capt. and Qtm., 17/Bn., died, 17/11/18.
Greathead, Alan. T/Capt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 20/1 1/1 7.
Green, Henry Morris, Capt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.
Green, Leslie Alan, 2/Lt., k. in a., 13/11/16 (6/Bn., att. 23/Bn.).
Greenwood, Charles Stuart, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., died, 21/7/16.
Gregory, Stanley Harris, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 13/11/16 (15/Bn., att.

24/Bn.).
Griffith, Rupert Varden De Burgh, Lt., k. in a., 12/3/15.
Griffiths, Charles Ridley, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., d. of w., 1/5/17.
Griffiths, Leon David, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 29/4/17 (24/Bn., att.

5/T.M.B.).
Grisot, Reginald, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 6/8/18.
Gudgeon, Frederick Gustavus, Capt. (Tp.), k. in a., 28/6/15 (10/Bn.,

att. 2/Bn.).
Gush, William George, 2/Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), k. in a., 23/4/17.
Guyon, George Sutherland, Lt.-Col., 2/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Gwynne-Vaughan, Kenneth Duncan, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 15/Bn. k. in a., 6,'g/i6

(and33/M.G.C).
Haddon, Vernon, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.
Hall, Geoffrey, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 20/1 1/17.
Hall, William Ernest, Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 23/5/15.
Hamilton, Albert Edward, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 18/8/17.
Hammond, Robert Whitehead, M.C., Capt. (Tp.) (A/Lt.-Col.), 26/Bn.,

d. of w., 30/9/17.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 343

Hanna, David Wishart, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 24/6/16.
Harding, Charles Egerton Hugh, Capt. (Bt. -Major), died, 10/12/17.
Harding, Donald Stanley, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 13/Bn., k. in a.,

10/4/17.
Hardman, Adrian Thomas, Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 30/3/16.
Hardman, Frederick McMahon, 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/10/14.
Hardy, Ferdinand H., Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 4/9/16 (2/Bn., att. 22/M G.C.).
Harrup, Frederick Charles Leonard, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a.,

21/9/18.
Harter, Clements Jesse, Lt., k. in a., 16/6/15.
Harvey, Albert Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Harvey, R. W., 2/Lt., 17/Bn., died, 22/10/18 (and R.A.F.).
Havelock, Ernest Wilfrid, Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 18/9/16.
Haviland, John Doria. Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 16/7/16.
Hawkins, Kenneth Edwards, M.C., Lt. (A/Capt.), 7/Bn., k. in a.

22/3/18.
Hawkridge, Joseph Arnold, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 6/11/16 (15/Bn., att.

9/Suss. R.).
Haycraft, Alan Montague, Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16 (6/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Hayes, Claude Julian Patrick, Capt. (A.), i/Bn., k. in a., 9/8/16.
Hayward, Cecil Bernard, Capt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 27/7/16.
Hayward, Edward John, 2/Lt., k. in a., 12/11/15 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Heathcote, Martin Arthur, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 18/7/16.
Heaver, Douglas Cams, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.
Heinemann, John Walter, Capt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., d. of w., 6/3/16.
Helmore, S. T. J., 2/Lt., 23/Bn., killed, 14/5/18 (and R.A.F.).
Hendriks, Augustus Mark, Capt., k. in a., 25/5/15.
Hendry, Charles Arthur, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/18.
Henley, Frederick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 27/10/16.
Hersee, Charles Patrick Allen, 2/Lt. (Tp.),, 9/Bn., k. in a. ,3/3/16.
Hicks, Frank Alan, M.C., Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 21/8/18.
Hicks, Walter Gerald, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 12/8/15.
Hiddingh, Stephen Van Der Poel, Lt. (A/Capt.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Hilder, Maurice Lake, M.C., Lt. (T/Capt.), k. in a., 3/5/17 (5/Bn., att.

23/Bn.).
Hill, William Ernest, Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 8/8/18.
Hine, T. C, 2/Lt., 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Hinton, Norman Charles, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., d. of w., 4/4/18.
Hoare, Walter, John Gerald, D.S.O., Capt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a.,

25/10/16.
Hobbs, Frank Matthew, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/9/14.
Hodding, James Douglas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 10/7/16.
Hodges, Charles Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/6/15.
Hodges, Sydney Howard, 2/Lt., k. in a., 17/10/14.
Hodgson, Michael Reginald Kirkman, Capt., k. in a., 17/3/15 (att.

York L.I. ).
Hogbin, Raymond, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Holdcroft, Eric Crane, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 4/10/17 (Res., att. 13/Bn.).
Holland, Jack Harold, 2/Lt., 22/Bn., died, 16/6/18 (and R.A.F.).
Hollands, Wilfrid George, 2/Lt., k. in a., 12/10/16 (7/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Honeywill, Stanley Ross, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 8/10/18.
Hope-Johnstone, Henry Murray, M.C., Capt. (A/Major), d. of w.,

31/7/17 (att. 12/Bn.).
Hosegood, Henry Arnold, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 24/2/15.
Houghton, William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 9/4/16 (11/Bn., att. 15/Bn.) (att.

8/R.W. Fus.).
Howard, Leslie Rayner, Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.
Howells, David Geoffrey, 2/Lt. (Tp.), died, 1/12/18.
Hudson, Arthur Cyril, Major (Tp.), d. of w., 2/10/16 (att. 11/Bn.).
Hughes, Sidney Russell, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 30/9/18 (23/Bn., att. 1 i/Bn),

344 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Hughes, William Francis, M.C., M.M., Lt., 17/Bn., d. of w., 7/9/18.

Hugill, Edwin Abbott, Capt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., died, 25/9/17.

Hugill, Valentine Francis Herbert, 2/Lt., 16/Bn., k. in a., 16/10/16 (and

R.F.C., 42/Sq.).
Hume, Ronald, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 6/4/17 (and R.F.C., 20/Sq.).
Humphreys, William Thomas, Lt. (T/Capt. and Qr-Mr.), 3/Bn., k. in a.,

4/10/18.

Humphrys, Stewart Francis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 26/8/16 (20/Bn.,

att. 14/Bn.).
Hunter, Arthur Lawrence, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 8/8/18.
Hyams, Alec Hallenstein, Lt., k. in a., 3/5/15 (9/Bn., att. 3/Bn )
Illing, Francis, 2/Lt., d. of w., 8/5/18 (5/Bn., att. 13/Bn.).
Inghs, W. R., Col., 33/Bn., died, 30/3/16.
Ireland, Joseph Knowles, Capt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Isaacs, Vincent Harcourt, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 21/9/18.
Jackson, Arthur Rushton, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 25/4/18
Jackson, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 26/Bn., 20/9/17.
Jacob, Arthur Henry Augustus, Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 16/7/16.
Jacobs, John Harry, M.C., A/Capt., i/Bn., k. in a., 11/10/18.
Jeffcoat, Stanley Ferns, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., d. of w., 29/4/17.
Jeffreys, Hubert Leslie, 2/Lt., 13/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Jepson, Norman Richard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 15/10/15 (14/Bn., att.
2/Bn.).

Johnson, Newton Farring, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 16/8/16 (15/Bn., att.

26/Bn.).
Johnson, Robert Deane, Capt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 6/7/16.
Judge, Wilfred Justice, 2/Lt., d. of w., 21/8/16 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn ).
Juniper, John Harvey, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/4/17.
Kay, Albert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 1/8/17.
Kaye, Frank Leon, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 11/4/17 (5/Bn., att. 9/Bn.).
Kentfield, Edwin Nelson, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 17/2/17.
Kerry, Albert, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Kilmister, Harold Howard Linsdell, M.C., Lt., k. in a., 22/8/18 (5/Bn

att. 9/Bn.).
Kinahan, James, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., d. of w., 8/10/18.
King, Alan Howard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 22/8/18.
Knight, Arthur George, Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 29/6/15.
Knott, Charles Singleton, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 23/3/18.
Lamb, Harold George Wellesley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/10/18 (6/Bn., att

10/Bn.).
Lambert, George, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/4/15.

Lambert, Leonard Walter, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 28/3/18 (att. 4/Bn )
Larcombe, Henry Reginald Reader, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 2/9/17
Large, Ronald Murray, Lt. (A/Capt.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 4/11/18.
Law, James Kidston, Capt., k. in a., 21/9/17 (and R.F.C., 60/Sq.).
Lawford, Herbert Martin Benson, Capt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a 7/10/16
Lawrence, John James, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 23/10/18.
Lawrence, Norman Alan, 2/Lt., k. in a., 30/4/17 (and R.F.C., 16/Sq ).
Leatherland, Frederick Arthur, 2/Lt. (Tp.), n/Bn., k. in a., 7/8/18.
Lecky, John Rupert Frederick, Capt., k. in a., 28/9/15 (7/B11 att

Norf. R.). J v// "

Lee, William Robert Charles Paul, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/7/15 (7/B11., att.

R. Welsh Fus.).
Leeming, Alfred Johnson, 2/Lt. (A./Capt.), 6/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Legge, Hugo Molesworth, Lieut., k. in a., 5/5/ 15.
Lelievre, Albert Frederic Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w., 4/8/16.
Le Marchant, S. H., 2/Lt., d. of w., 25/5/15 (6/Bn., att. 3/Bn.).
Lenton, Harold Bertram, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/10/17.
Lethbridge, Cecil Augustus, Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Leslie, Frank King, Capt., k. in a., 25/4/15.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 345

Levi, Harry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 30/11/17.

Lewis, David Jacob, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 28/2/17.

Ling, Frederick William, Capt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 27/6/17.

Linstead, Douglas Walter, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 6/5/16.

Lipp, Vernon Robertson, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 7/6/16 (5/Bn., att. 12/Bn.).

Lissaman, Arthur John, Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 13/4/17.

Little, Norman James Richard, Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., I3/3/1?-

Long, William Charles, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 31/8/18.

Longman, Frederick, Lt., k. in a., 18/10/14.

Lowe, George Stanley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 8/9/1 8 (att. 9/Bn.).

Lucas, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w., 28/12/17.

Lupton, Frank William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 4/8/16.

Macartney, Hussey Burgh George, Capt., i/Bn., k. in a., 24/6/15.

Macdougall, Allen, Capt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.

Mackadam, Harold James, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/12/17.

Mackay, Alexander William, M.C., Capt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 28/9/17.

Mackay, Angus, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., d. of w., 10/5/18.

Maclean, Donald Frederick Durant, Major (Tp.), died, 10/12/17.

McCarthy, Alexander, 2/Lt. (Tp.), i3/Bn., k. in a., 23/8/18.

McCullum, Rae Bruce, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 2/9/17 (4/Bn., att. 9/Bn.).

McGregor, Ian Alexander, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 10/9/16 (2/Bn., att.

2/N'd. Fus.).
Mclntyre, James Lennie, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 14/5/18.
McMahon, Norman Reginald, D.S.O., Brig. -Gen., k. in a., 11/11/14

(H.Q. 10 Inf. Bde.).
McNaught, Ernest Henry, 2/Lt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 18/7/16.
Magnay, Philip Magnay, Capt. (T/Lt.-Col.), k. in a., 13/4A7 (att. 12/Bn.

Manch. R.).
Maguire, Edward Alphonsus, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 8/10/18 (att. 4/Bn.).
Malcolm, Albert Victor Sadler, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 17/2/17 (16/Bn., att.

11/Bn.).
Manson, John Cochrane, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Marquard, John, Lt. (Tp.), (A/Capt.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 23/8/18.
Marsh, Harold, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/18.
Marshall, Dudley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/9/17 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Marsland, Eric Forbes, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16 (6/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Martin, Bertram Charles, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 13/4/17.
Martin, Harold, Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.

Mason, Arthur Edward Wright, Capt., k. in a., 2/3/16 (7/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Mason, Royston Alfred Robson, 2/Lt., d. of w., 20/1 1/1 7 (5/Bn., att.

2/Bn.).
Massey, Louis Oger, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 21/8/16.
Masters, Charles William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 30/8/17 (5/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Masters, Geoffrey, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 9/4/17.
Masterton, Frank, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 5/4/lS-
Matthews, Charles Henry, 2/Lt., i/Bn., d. of w., 22,3/18.
Maude, Gervase Henry Francis, 2/Lt., d. of w., 9/4/17 (att. 8/Bn.).
Mawdsley, Norman Hargreaves, Lt., 6/Bn., died, 1 7/6/18.
Mayer, Frank, Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 3/10/18 (att. 4/Bn.).
Mead, Bernard Wallace, 2/Lt., d. of w., 2/6/15.
Mead, Joesph Frederick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/8/14.
Mead, Robert John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 2/8/15.
Meares, Cecil Stanley, Capt. (Tp.), k. in a., 30/7/16 (19/Bn., att. 24/Bn.).
Mears-Devenish, John Augustus, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 22/3/18 (12/Bn.,

att. i/Bn.).
Measures, William Henry, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 22/8/18 (5/Bn.,

att. 1 i/Bn.).
Mellor, Harold Welton, Capt. (Tp.), died, 28/5/18 (15/Bn., att. 2/K.A.R.).
Menzies, Alastair Forbes, D.S.O., Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 17/Bn., k. in a.,

4/5/iS.

346 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Mepham, Horace Leslie, 2/Lt., k. in a., 11/4/18 (6/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).

Meredith, Eric D., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 4-10/10/16.

Meyricke, Robert James Francis, T/Major (A/Lt.-Col.), 11/Bn., k. in a.,

17/2/17.
Miall-Smith, Ralph A., Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 26/9/16.
Michell, Noel Burgess, Capt. (Tp.), n/Bn., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Miles, John Harris, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/9/15 (7/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Miles, Leonard Percy, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16 (6/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Millson, Alvan Ewen, Capt. (Act.), 6/Bn., k. in a., 9/4/17.
Milway, Edwin Horace, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 8/10/18.
Minchin, William Smith, M.C., Capt. and Qr.-Mr., 11/Bn., k. in a.,

20/4/18.
Monkman, Fred Kerbey, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 28/9/17.
Morgan, Albert Ernest, Capt., k. in a., 10/3/15 (att. R.F.C.).
Morgan, F. J., 2/Lt., 7/Bn., d. of w., 16/5/18 (and R.A.F.).
Morgan, William Alfred, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Morris, Collin Dwight, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 14/3/16.
Mortimer, Leonard James, Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 24/1 1/17.
Mortlock, Percy George, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Moscrop, William Noel Jobson, M.C., 2/Lt. (A/Capt.), k in a., 27/5/18

(att. 5/Durh. L.I.).
Mott, Francis Stanley, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., d. of w., 23/7/16.
Mount, Edward Alfred, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 4/1/16.
Moxon, Gerald John Mortimer, Capt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.
Mullane, Bernard Patrick, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., d. of w., 1/4/18.
Mundey, Lionel Clement, Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 6/6/15.
Munds, Percy, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., d. of w., 8/10/18.
Murless, Herbert Reginald, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 7/2/17 (i/Bn., att.

12/Bn.).
Murphy, Harry Eustace, Lt., 1/4/Bn. (and R.A.F.), k., 22/4/18.
Murray-Smith, Geoffrey, Lt., k. in a., 29/9/15 (6/Bn., att. 3/Bn.).
Nathan, William Sylvester, 2/Lt., k. in a., 14/6/16 (att. 12/Bn.).
Neate, Nelson Rayner, M.C., Capt., k. in a., 3/5/17 (11/Bn., att.

H.A.C.).
Neate, William, 2/Lt., 24/Bn., k. in a., 24/3/18.
Neely, Clive William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 14/Bn., died, 20/6/16.
Neighbour, Walter Bayard, 2/Lt. (Tp), 4/Bn., d. of w., 16/8/16.
Newcomb, Cyril, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 25-28/9/15.
Newland, Edward Albert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 23/10/18.
Newnham, Alfred Geoffrey, 2/Lt., k. in a., 11/11/14.
Nicholls, John Watson, Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Nicholson, Albert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 8/8/18.
Nicholson, Bruce Hills, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Nicholson, Edward Hills, D.S.O., Major, A/Lt.-Col., k. in a., 4/10/18

(att. East Surr. R.).
Nield, Wilfred Herbert Everard, Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Noel, Honble. Robert Edmund Thomas More, Capt., died, 2/2/18 (6/Bn.,

att. i/Nigerian R.).
Norman, Garnet, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 2/4/18.
Norris, Cyril Norman, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., d. of w., 19/8/17.
Norwell, Herbert, 2/Lt., k. in a., 12/4/18 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Notcutt, Leonard, Ernest, Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17 (and 27/M.G.C).
Nyren, Dudley Richard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 24/3/18.
O'Connor, Bernard Joseph, Lt. (Tp.), 3/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/18.
Ohlmann, G. A. L., 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/9/15.
Oliver, Edgar Alexander, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 27/7/16-
Orbell, Ivan Scott, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25/10/17.
Osborn, Ernest John, M.C., Lt. (Tp.),(A/Capt.), d. of w., 13/4/18 (att.

5/T.M.B.).
Osborne. H. C. B. Major (Tp.), 27/Bn., died, 28/6/16.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 347

Osborne, Robert Lionel, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k.in a., 7/7/86 (i4/Bn-> att- 9/Bn.).

Ottley, Glendower George, Major (Tp.), k. in a., 3/9/16.

Ozanne, Edward Graeme, Capt., d. of w., 16/2/15.

Paddock, William Francis, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 9/4/17.

Page-Green, Reginald Sebastian, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a,

22/6/7.
Paiba, Ellis James Alfred, Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 20/10/15 (15/Bn., att..

2/Bn.).
Pallet, Edward Roy, Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 6/4/18.
Palling, William Lionel, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 15/3/16 (att.

iii/T.M.B.).
Palmer, Edward Charles Maxwell, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/4/17 (13/Bn., att

iii/T.M.B.).
Palmer, John Henry, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Parker, Walter Henry, Lt. (A/Capt.), k. in a., 15/6/17 (att. 2/4 Lon. R.)
Parkes, Robert Lionel, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Parr, Wilfred Alexander, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Parr-Dudley, John Huskisson, 2/Lt. (Tp.) 11/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Parr-Dudley, Walter, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 5/4/lS-
Parry, William Henry Liddon, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., d. of w., 29/1 1/16.
Parsons, Alfred Ernest, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Parsons, George Jonathan, 2/Lt., d. of w., 31/8/18 (att. 4/Bn.).
Patman, Harold George, 2/Lt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Pattinson, H. L., Capt. and Adj., k. in a., 4/8/15 (att. 9/Bn.).
Payne, William Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., k. in a., 17/2/17.
Pearson, Angus John William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 14/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Pearson, John Ashworth, Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.
Pearson, Neil M., 2/Lt., k. in a , 17/8/16 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Peaston, Leslie Gordon, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 21/3/18.
Peecock, Edward Gordon, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Pennington, Harold Cocking, Lt. (Tp.), i/Bn., d. of w., 20/6/17.
Penny, Bernard Willoughby, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., d. of w., 18/8/17.
Penny, Stanley, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 14/Bn., d. of w., 28/7/16.
Penrose, Harold, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 27/3/17 (12/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Penrose, Harold Wesley, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 26/3/18.
Penwarden, William Francis, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 31/8/18.
Perraton, Frank Mayvour, 2/Lt., 22/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Perrier, William Samuel, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.
Perry, Cullen Hay, Lt. (Tp.), died, 3/2/18 (and R.F.C.).
Persse, Henry Wilfred, M.C., Capt. (A/Major), 2/Bn., d. of w., 28/6/18.
Phillipps, The Honble. Rowland Erasmus, Capt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a.,

7/7/16.
Phillips, Sydney, Capt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 25/10/15.
Pickop, James Taylor Greer, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 21/6/17.
Pickop, William Bannister Augustus, Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 24/10/18.
Pilgrim, Hugh Thomas, M.C., Capt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 25/8/18.
Pincombe, Lionel John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Pinney, John Charles William Adderley, Lt., k. in a., 1/12/17 (i/Bn., att.

38/Horse).
Pitt, Geoffery Stanhope, T/Capt., 26/Bn., died, 11/2/19.
Pollak, Otto Dennis, Lt., 17/Bn., k. in a., 8/7/16.
Porter, Robert Ernest, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., d. of w., 10/8/17.
Portlock, Alfred Edgar, 2/Lt. (Tp.), killed, 6/12/17 (att. R.F.C.).
Potts, Ernest Alexander, M.C.. 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 15/10/18 (24/Bn.,

att. 10/Bn.).
Powell, Eric Layton, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 16/4/17.
Pratt, William George James, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 28/9/17.
Price, Harold Strachan, 2/Lt.( Tp.), k. in a., 24/5/15.
Price, John Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn. , k. in a., 20/7/16.
Price-Edwards, Owen, Capt S Bn., k. in a., 22/6/16.

348 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Pride, A. R., 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.

Prior, H. L., 2/Lt., died 3/7/18 (1/4/Bn., att. R.A.F.).

Procter, Alexander Duncan Guthrie, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.

Prynne, Edgar George Fellowes, T/Lt. (A/Capt.), k. in a., 16/9/16

(4/Bn., att. 1/23 Lond. R.).
Pugh, C. Arthur, 2/Lt., 26/Bn., k. in a., 10/10/16.
Puzey, Arthur Kenneth, Capt., k. in a., n/n/14.

Pye, Francis John, Capt., k. in a., 15/12/16 (5/Bn., att. Gold Coast Rgt.).
Quin, James Davidson, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 19/8/18.
Radcliffe, David, Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 18/3/16.
Radford, Francis Buckley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25/3/18 (3/Bn., att. 13/Bn.).
Raine, George Stevenson, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k., 1 5/3/17 (26/Bn., att. R.F.C.).
Ralfs, Arthur, Lt., d. of w., 16/9/16 (5/Bn., att. 9 Lanes. Fus.).
Ramsay, A., Lt., 5/Bn., died, 28/4/15.
Ramsbottom, Reginald, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 29/7/16 (29/Bn., att.

17/Bn.).
Randall, Edwin Walter, Lt., 7/B11., k. in a., 23/4/17.
Ranken, Dudleigh Chalmers, Capt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 27/7/16.
Rattigan, Cyril Stanley, Capt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 13/11/16.
Rattray, David Lindsay, Capt, (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 17/2/17.
Rawlins, Gerald Edmund Adair, Capt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Rawson, Stuart Milner, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Reed, James Richard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 24/11/17.
Reed, Russell Walter, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 11/10/18.
Rees, Eric Montague, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/10/18 (6/Bn., att. 13/Bn.).
Rigby, Charles, Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 4/11/18 (R.A.F.).
Remington, Wallace, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 23/3/18.
Rennie, Donald Williamson, 2/Lt., k. in a., 11/11/14.
Richards, Percival Morgan, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 15/7/16.
Richards, Roland, Lt. (Tp.,) k. in a., 7/12/15 (16/Bn., att. 7/R. Mun.

Fus.).
Richardson-Jones, Charles Harry, 2/Lt., 6/Bn., k. in a., 11/6/16.
Righton, Richard Harry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/9/18 (6/Bn., att. 7/Bn.).
Roberts, Arthur Colin, C.M.G., D.S.O., Brig. -Gen., died, 1 7/5/1 7 (80

Inf. Bde. H.Q.).
Roberts, Frederick Norman, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 3/Bn., d. of w., 19/11/18.
Roberts, Francis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 27/10/16.
Roberts, William Arthur, Lt. (Tp.), died, 20/8/17 (30 T.R.B.).
Robertson, Barrie Dow, 2/Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 22/8/18.
Robertson-Walker, Arthur Murdoch Maxwell, Capt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a.,

7/7/16.
Robinson, Arthur Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., k. in a., 11/6/17.
Robinson, Thistle, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 25/10/18 (att. 26/Bn.).
Roe, William Richard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), died, 11/5/17 (n/Bn., att. H.A.C.),

in German hands.
Rogers, Benjamin Richard Corlay, 2/Lt., k. in a., 17/10/18 (6/Bn., att.

3/Bn.).
Rogers, Sheffield Digby Kissane, Lt., k. in a., 14/6/15 (4/Bn., att. North'd

Fus.).
Roope, Charles Francis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Roper, Eric Walter, Lt. and Adj. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w., 12/9/16.
Roper, William Frank, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 29/9/18 (11/Bn., att.

54/T.M.B.).
Roscoe, Richard Lang, M.C., Capt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., d. of w., 4/2/17.
Rose, Theodore William Frank, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 4/4/18.
Rowe, Benjamin Franklin, Lt., k. in a., 1/6/17 (and R.F.C.).
Royer, Harold Ernest, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/9/18.
Royle, Dennis Carlton, M.C., Capt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 21/8/18.
Rumball, George Thomas Sydney, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 13/4/18

(att. 2/Bn.).

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 349

Ryan, Martin, Capt. (Tp.) (A/Major), 25/Bn., k. in a., 18/10/17.
Sampson, Bertram George, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 12/2/17.
Sandall, Horace Cecil Blandford, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 9/3/18 (12/Bn.,

att. 10/Bn.).
Sanders, Frederick John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., d. of w., 6/8/18.
Savage, William Howard, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Savours, Arthur William, Lt., k. in a., 2/8/18 (6/Bn., att. 11/Bn.).
Saward, Ralph, 2/Lt., 22/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Sayer, Leonard Charles, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., d. of w., 4/7/16.
Sayer, Robert Bramwell, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., d. of w., 19/2/17.
Schofield, Cuthbert, Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 25/9/15 (14/Bn., att. 12/Bn.).
Scott, Arthur Ernest Mortimer, Lt., k. in a., 7/11/16 (7/Bn., att. 4/Bn.).
Scott, William David, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 3/8/17.
Scott-Miller, Walter Dudley, 2/Lt., killed, 22/6/17 (att. R.F.C.).
Scudamore, John Venables, Lt., k. in a., 25/4/15.
Sealy, Charles Frederic Noel Prince, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 24/5/15.
Selous, Frederick Courteney, D.S.O., Capt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., k. in a.,

4/I/I7-
Seward, Stanley Richard, Lt. (A/Capt.), k. in a., 30/10/17 (7/Bn., att.

7/R. Sco. Fus.).
Seymour-Ure, William Bruce, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 32/Bn., k. in a., 4-10/10/16.
Shafto, Thomas Duncombe, Capt., k. in a., 2/5/15.
Shannon, Richard Bernard, Earl of, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 13/4/17.
Sharp, Humphrey, Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 5/10/15.
Sharpe, Sydney William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 25/Bn., d. of w., 25/3/18.
Shaw, Hugh James, Capt., k., 11/11/14 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Shaw, Max Joseph, Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 15/9/16 (16/Bn., att. 26/Bn.).
Shaw, Raymond Pugh, Lt. (T/Capt.), k. in a., 28/11/15 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.)
Shaw, Walter Douglas, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 8/11/18 (att. 1/10

Manch. R.).
Shepherd, Gordon Strachy, D.S.O., M.C., Brig. -Gen., k. in a., 19/1/18

(and R.F.C.).
Sherwood, Clement Walter, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn. , k. in a., 28/1 1/17.
Shoesmith, Edward James, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 7/6/17.
Shillingford, Stanley Charles, Lt., k. in a., 16/6/18 (2/Bn., att. R.A.F.).
Shorrock, Thomas Dudley Ralph, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Shurey, Charles, Capt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 21/7/16.
Sidwell, Albert Edward, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), 9/B11., k. in a., 7/7/17.
Simonds, Ernest Hugh, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 28/3/18.
Simmons, Robert George, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Simons. Leon, M.C., Capt., 22/Bn., k. in a., 17/2/17.
Simpson, Christopher Byron, Capt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Simpson, John Parker Norfolk, 2/Lt., d. of w., 27/5/15 (5/Bn., att. 2/Bn.).
Sims, Heber Harold, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., d. of w., 1/9/18.
Sinclair, Frank, Lt. (Tp.), drowned, 3/10/18 (att. Nigeria Rgt.).
Skelton, Harry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., d. of w., 12/10/16.
Skinner, Stephen William, 2/Lt., 32/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/16.
Smith, Arthur William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 23/Bn., k. in a., 7/9/18.
Smith, Dugald, 2/Lt. (Tp.) (A/Capt.), 4/Bn., d. of w., 8/10/18.
Smith, Everard Cecil, Lt., k. in a., 23/8/14.
Smith, James Clement, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.
Smith, Sydney John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Smith, Walter Wyville, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 18/10/15.
Snaith, William Ernest, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Snelling, Frederick John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/10/17
Solomon, L. B., Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 12/4/18.
Soro, William, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 16/4/17.
Sparks, James Elliot, Lt., k. in a., 21/7/16.
Sparks, Robert Lionel, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 22/1 1/1 7.
Speakman, Alan Edwards, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 5/9/18 (att. 2/Bn.

350 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Spence, Bertram, 2/Lt. (Tp.), g/Bn., k. in a., 21/9/18.

Spicer, George Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 17/Bn., k. in a., 6/6/18.

Spooner, George Piercy, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 20-23/9/17 (att. 26/Bn.)

Stables, Harold Rolleston, Lt., k. in a., 15/11/14 (5/Bn., att. Chesh. R.).

Stafford, Cyril Francis, 2/Lt., 24/Bn., d. of w., 14/4/17.

Stanlej', Lawrence Aston, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 30/1 1/1 7.

Stapleton-Brethcrton, Wilfred Stanislaus, Capt., k. in a., 8/11/14.

Stearns, Eric Gordon, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 7/8/15.

Steele, Frederick Wilberforce Alexander, Lt., d. of w., 25-27/10/14.

Stephens, Geoffrey Duncan, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/7/16 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn., att.

T.M. By.).
Stephenson, Rennie, Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 16/11/16.
Stevens, Arthur Reginald Ingram, Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 4/8/16.
Stevenson, Frederick, 2/Lt., 22/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Stileman, Cecil Herbert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 29/2/16 (and R.F.C., 5/Sq.).
Stiles, Arthur James, 2/Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/8/16.
Still, Reginald Sidney Hewitt, 2/Lt., k. in a. (28/Bn., att. 9/Bn.).
Stirling, Richard Kellock, Lt., k. in a., 21/8/15 (5/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Stocker, Frederick Luff, Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 23/8/18 (28/Bn., att. 20/Bn.).
Stollery, John Cecil, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/5/15 (5/Bn., att. Warwicks).
V.C. Stone, Walter Napleton, A/Capt., k. in a., 30/1 1/1 7 (3/Bn., att.

17/Bn.).
Stovold, Grosvenor Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 1 0/8/1 7.
Stoyle, A. P., Lt., died, 27/2/19 (4/Bn., att. R.A.F.).
Street, Frank, Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 7/7/16.
Stringer, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Stuart, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 6/Bn., died, 24/4/18.
Sykes, Ronald Arthur, Lt., 7/Bn., d. of w., 28/4/17.
Symonds, Arthur, 2/Lt., 23/Bn., k. in a., 1 7/2/1 7.
Symons, Charles Handley Lamphier, 2/Lt., k. in a., 20/1 1/17 (5/Bn., att,

8/Bn.).
Tardugno, Ray, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 7/7/17 (17/Bn., att. R.F.C., 57/Sq.).
Tate, William Lewis, Lt., k. in a., 13/3/15.

Taylor, Arthur George Ernest, Lt. (A/Capt.), 7/Bn., d. of w., 26/5/17.
Taylor, Clives Wailes, M.C., 2/Lt., 17/Bn., d. of w., 25/2/17.
Taylor, Eric Francis M., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 27/7/16.
Taylor, Francis Maurice, Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., k. in a., 15/7/16.
Taylor, Maurice, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/3/18 (att. 11/Bn.).
Tealby, Harold Edgar William, 2/Lt. (A/Capt.), k. in a., 5/4/18 (6/Bn.,

att. 7/Bn.).
Templar, John Franklin Hopwood, Capt., 2/Bn., died, 8/2/19.
Thoday, Albert Eric, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Thomas-O'Donel, George O'Donel Frederick, Capt. and Adjt., k. in a.

16/6/15.
Thompson, Albert Martin, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 21/12/15 (att. 1/15

Lond. R.).
Thompson, Richard Henry Vaughan, Capt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a.,

26/9/16.
Thomson, Spencer, M.C., Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 24/4/17 (14/Bn., att. 2/Bn.)
Thorburn, R. W., Capt. (Tp.), 32/Bn , d. of w., 7/8/17.
Thorp, Leslie, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 16/11/16.
Tiffany, Harry Waddington, M.C., 2/Lt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 15/11/16.
Toller, Edward Northcote, Capt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Tothill, Geoffrey Ivan Francis, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 27/3/16.
Tower, Bertie Christopher Butler, M.C., Capt. (A/Major), d. of w.

22/8/18.
Tristram, Eric Barrington, 2/Lt. (T/Lt.), k. in a., 6/9/17 (att. 1/5 Lane.

Fus.).
Troup, Frank Monck Mason, Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 10/4/17.
Tupper, Harold, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., d. of w., 22/7/18.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 351

Turney, Leonard William, Major, k. in a., 3/5/17 (6 Bn., att. 8/Bn.).

Twigg, Ellis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 4/Bn., k. in a., 1 8/9/1 8.

Twyman, Percy Gedge, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 10/Bn., d. of w., 15/4/17.

Ullman, Douglas Maurice Jaques, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.

Umney, Basil Charles Lovell, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., k. in a., 22/7/16.

Underwood, Edmund Poole, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 30/7/16 (17/Bn., att.

29/Bn.).
Undery, John Alfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/10/14.
Uphill, Reginald William James, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Usher, Arthur Norman, M.C., 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 4/11/18.
Van Gruisen, Wilfred, M.C., Lt., i/Bn., d. of w., 1/11/16.
Vaughan, John Montgomery, 2/Lt., d. of w., 25/5/15.
Veresmith, Evelyn Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 9/7/16 (14/Bn., att.

9/Bn.).
Vincent, George Samuel, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 4/10/17.
Waddell.James Douglas, Capt., 12/Bn., k. in a., 25/9/15.
Waddell-Dudley, Robert Rowland, Lt., k. in a., 15/4/15.
Wade, Lawrence Frank, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 28/8/18.
Waghorn, Percy William. 2/Lt., 8/Bn., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Waley, Aubrey John, Lt. (Tp.), 12/Bn., k. in a., 31/7/17.
Walker, Alfred English, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 22/8/16.
Waller (Bart.), Francis Ernest (Sir), Capt., k. in a., 25/10/14 (6/Bn.,

att. 4/Bn.).
Waller, Richard Alured, 2/Lt., 5/Bn., died, 1/11/17.
Wallwork, Herbert, Lt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 20/7/16.
Walsh, John, Major (Tp.), 22/Bn., d. of w., 19/2/17.
Ward, Eric, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., d. of w., 27/2/18.

Warde, Brian Edmund Douglas, Lt., k. in a., 16/6/15 (6/Bn., att. 4/Bn.)
Wardley, Miles Edward, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 22/Bn., k. in a., 29/4/17.
Wardrop, John, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 8/Bn., k. in a., 3/8/16.
Wason, Cyril Ernest, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 9/Bn., k. in a., 30/1 1/1 7.
Watt, Robert, 2/Lt., 11/Bn., k. in a., 10/8/17.
Weare, Frederick John, 2/Lt., 4/Bn., d. of w., 9/10/18.
Webb, George Tudor, 2/Lt. (Td.), 24/Bn., k. in a., 21/4/16.
Webb, R. B., Major (Tp.), 25/Bn., died, 26/7/16.
Wells, Frederick Bennett, 2/Lt., 23/Bn., d. of w., 10/10/18.
Wells, Hurlestone Vesey, Capt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 12/4/18.
Westaway, Leslie Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 2/Bn., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Whiteman, Ormonde Charles, Capt. (Tp.), 11/Bn., k. in a., 22/1 1/1 7.
Whitworth, James Frederick, Capt., k. in a., 21/3/18 (from W. Yorks.).
Whittall, Noel Charles, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 13/9/17 (7/Bn., att. R.F.C.,

6/Sq.).
Whyte, Mark Gilchrist, 2/Lt., k. in a., 19/8/18.
Wickham, Cyril Henry, Capt., d. of w., 15/1/15.
Wiggen, Robert Harrison, M.C., 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 17/2/17 (15/Bn.,

att. 23/Bn.),
Wilcock, Maurice Nettleton, Lt., 13/Bn., k. in a., 1 8/9/18.
Willett, Nelson Herbert, 2/Lt., 2/Bn., k. in a., 11/4/18.
Williams, Idris Havard Joseph, Capt., d. of w., 3/6/15.
Williams, Rowland, 2/Lt., 9/Bn., k. in a., 23/10/18.
Williams, Trevard Lewis, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 30/10/17.
Williams, William Frederick, 2/Lt., 17/Bn., k. in a., 27/9/18.
Wilmshurst, Edwin Roy, Lt. (Tp.), d. of w., 1/12/16 (20/Bn., att.

20/Bn.).
Wilshin, J. H., 2/Lt., d. of w., 25/4,18 (6/Bn., att. i/Bn.).
Wilson, Arthur Hone, Lt., d. of w., 18/11/16 (4/Bn., att. 7/Bn.).
Wilson, Frederick Thomas Austen, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 2/3/1 8 (5/Bn., att.

2/Bn.).
Withall, John, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16 (6/Bn., att. 8/Bn.).
Wolfe, Bernard, Lt. (Tp.), 38/Bn., died, 20/7/18.

352 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Wood, Hector Frederick, M.C., Capt., 32/Bn., k. in a., 20/9/17.

Wood, Henry, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 19/Bn., d. of w., 2/1/16.

Wood, Paul Barnard, Lt., 5/Bn., k. in a., 23/4/17.

Woodcock, Cecil William Napier, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 14/9/18.

Woodville-Morgan, Eric Theodore, 2/Lt., k. in a., 20-23/9/17 (6/Bn.,

att. 26/Bn.).
Wright, Cecil Keith Foylc, 2/Lt., 10/Bn., k. in a., 21/8/18.
Wright, Eric Tracey, Capt. (Tp.), 20/Bn., k. in a., 13/3/16.
Wnght, George Bertram, 2/Lt., i/Bn., k. in a., 11/10/18.
Wright, Norman Stanley, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 26/Bn., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Wright, Richard Bertram, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/7/18 (att. 1/6 W. Yorks. R.).
Wright-Ingle, Cecil Hubert, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 30/4/16 (19/Bn., att.

2/Lein. R.).
Yandle, Thomas, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., 10/4/17.
Yellen, Cyril Francis, 2/Lt. (Tp.), k. in a., 30/1 1/17 (att. 17/Bn.).
Young, James Cecil, 2/Lt., 7/Bn., k. in a., 6/4/18.
Young, Rowdon Morris, 2/Lt. (Tp.), 13/Bn., k. in a., n/8/16.
Young, Henry Harman, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/5/15.

City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers),
ist Battalion.

Allender, John Harold, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Andrew, Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/1 1/1 7.

Arden, Reginald Douglas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/10/16.

Atkins, Leslie Gordon, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25/5/18.

Auerbach, Albert Arthur, M.C., Lt., k. in a., 1/9/18.

Balfour, B., Lt., k. in a., 16/4/18 (and R.A.F.).

Barker, Charles Haydn, 2/Lt., d. of w., 8/10/18.

Barton, William Ewart, 2/Lt., d. of w., 25/8/18.

Bell, Kenneth Frederick Hamilton, 2/Lt., k. in a., 25/9/15.

Besley, Howard Napier, 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/6/17.

Bowen, Rowland George P., Lt., k. in a., 9/5/15.

Buck, Geoffry Sebastain, M.C., D.F.C., Capt., k. in a., 3/9/18 (and

R.A.F.).
Burnaby, Geoffry, Lt., d. of w., 23/10/16.
Campbell, Walter Stanley, M.C., 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Carr, Leslie George, M.C. and Bar, Capt., d. of w., 27/4/18.
Carter, Cecil Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 20/9/17.
Chamberlain, John Harold, 2/Lt., d. of w., 21/11/15.
Chapman, Fred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/8/18.
Chichester, William George Cubitt, Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Coleman, Sydney, Capt., d. of w., 14/10/18.
Collens, Edwin Theobald, Lt., d. of w., 3/9/18.
Crowe, Harold Archer, 2/Lt., d. of w., 1/6/15.
Cundall, Hubert Walter, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Dickinson, Lionel St. Clair, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/9/16.
Dowden, Reginald Stanley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 6/8/1 7.
Eiloart, Frank Oswald, A/Capt., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Fry, John Desford, Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Glover, Richard Bowie Gaskell, Capt., k. in a., 5/11/15.
Harper, Reginald Alexander, 2/Lt., d. of w., 1 6/9/1 7.
Heaton, Norman Child, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Henderson, Alec Stuart, Capt., d. of w., 25/4/15.
Hill, Gerald Stanley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Houghton, John Reginald, M.C, A/Capt., k. in a., 21/3/18.
Huggins, Douglas Frank, Capt., k. in a., 29/8/18.
Johnson, Edmund George, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/8/18.
Kekewich, George Capt., d. of w., 28/10/17.
Le Tall, Cyril Herbert, Capt., k. in a., 30/8/18.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 353

Long, Daniel Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 28/5/18.

Martin, Edwin, John, 2/Lt., k. in a., 4/9/18.

Mayer, Gerald Max, Lt., d. of w., 1 6/2/1 7.

Mews, John Keith, Capt., d. of w., 24/8/18.

Meyers, Stanley Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.

Mockford, Joseph, 2/Lt., d. of w., 8/4/17.

Mouat, George Mouat Dundas, Capt., k. in a., 9-10/5/15.

Mytton, Richard, 2/Lt., d. of w., 3/10/16.

Naylor, James Reginald, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.

Newall, Leslie, 2/Lt., k. in a., 2/9/15.

Nunn, Frederick Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 2/4/18 (R.A.F.).

Parslow, William Hunt, A/Capt., d. of w., 10/8/18.

Petley, Hugh, Capt., k. in a., 1 6/9/1 6.

Prentice, Oliver, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/3/18.

Richards, Robert Ingram, 2/Lt., d. of w., 27/10/17.

Rowland, Cyril William, M.C., Capt., k. in a., 23/8/18.

Scott, Ronald Burrell Ind, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.

Seaverns, Joel, Harrison, Lt., d. of w., 10/5/15.

Shail, William Archibald, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Sheasby, Edwin William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.

Smith, Duncan Vaughan, D.S.O., Lt.-Col., d. of w., 1 3/4/1 7.

Snowdon, Henry Frederick, Lt., k. in a., 6/10/16.

Snowdon, Sidney Frank, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.

Stapleton, Harold Frederick, Lt., k. in a., 1 5/9/1 6.

Stevens, William Philip, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/8/18.

Townend, Cecil Pelham, 2/Lt., d. of w., 24/9/16.

Vawser, Thomas Edmund, 2/Lt., k. in a., 21-23/3/18.

Waddams, Walter Herbert Leonard, M.C., A/Capt., d. of w., 12/4/17.

Westlake, Geoffrey Arthur, Lt., k. in a., 7-8/10/16.

Wilkinson, Eyre Spencer, Lt., k. in a., 12/1/16 (and R.F.C.).

Williams, Harold Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7-8/10/16.

Wilson, David Oliver, 2/Lt., d. of w., 8/10/16.

City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers).
2nd Battalion.

Bennett, Harold Percy, Lt., k. in a., 21/3/18.

Buxton, Bertie Reginald, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/ 16.

Child, David Leshe, Lt., d. of w., 11/9/16.

Clayton, Albert James, M.C., 2/Lt., d. of w., 24/8/18.

Cooke, George Josiah, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/11/17 (and R.F.C.).

Coppen, William Joseph, Lt., k. in a., 2/11/17.

Falkner, Clarence Beach, Capt., k. in a., 25/10/17.

Farley, Frederick Albert, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Fradd, Kingsley Meredith Chatterton, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16 (M.G.C.)«

Gant, Harold Holden, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/9/18.

Garland, James Richard, T/Capt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Gordon, Colin, Capt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Gosnell, Harold Clifford, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Grainger, John Scott, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Gretton, Horace Edward, Capt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Hammond, Frederic Robert Cyprian, 2/Lt., k. in a., 6/7/15,

Handyside, Percy James Alexander, Capt., k. in a., 1/7/16,

Hawkins, Harold Engleby, Capt., k. in a., 16/6/17.

Heagerty, Richard Browne, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17.

Heaumann, Richard, Capt., k. in a., 8-10/9/16.

Henderson, Graeme Von Hope, Lt., k. in a., 16/6/17.

Howard, Herbert Quey, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/8/18.

Inwards, Horatio, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/6/17.

Jepson, Arthur George Leslie, Capt., k. in a., 16/9/16.

F. A A

354 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Keen, Stephen Whitworth, M.C., Lt., d. of w., 21/8/18 (and R.A.F.)

Lockey, Ernest William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8-10/9/16.

Long, James William, Capt., k. in a., 8-10/9/16.

McMurray, Stuart, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/8/17 (and R.F.C.).

Martin, Stanley, M.M., 2/Lt., k. in a., 18/9/18.

Merrikin, George Houlden, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/8/18.

Missen, Edward Roland Cecil, 2/Lt., k. in a., 4/10/18.

Murray, Cyril, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Noel, Alfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17.

Perris, Noel Frederick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 20/7/18 (and R.A.F.).

Preedy, John Benjamin Knowlton, Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.

Prince, Frederick George, 2/Lt., k., 18/5/19 (and R.A.F.) .

Rawle, William Richard, Capt., d. of w., 8/8/18.

Richardson, John Ernest, Lt., k. in a., 7/5/15.

Rolleston, Francis Launcelot, 2/Lt., k., 26/4/15.

Royce, R. Francis, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/9/18.

St. Leger, St. John Richard, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15-1 7/9/16.

Skeet, John Richard, Lt., k. in a., 27/4/18.

Smoothy, Albert Victor, 2/Lt., d. of w., 9/11/18.

Solley, Bernard John, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/8/18.

Spong, Frederick William Edward, 2/Lt., d. of w., 2/8/17 (in German

hands) .
Stacey, Gerald Arthur, D.S.O., Major, k. in a., 9/10/16.
Starling, Benjamin Alfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/3/18.
Stockley, Harold Brodie, Lt., killed, 22/7/18 (R.A.F.).
Strange, William Frederick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Stubbs, Cecil Arthur, 2/Lt., d. of w., 2/7/16.
Sullivan, Arthur John, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Symes, John Bond, Capt., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Taylor, Philip Charton, Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Thorman, Alan Marshall, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Urcell, William, Lt., died, 4/11/18.
Walton, Frank Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/9/17.
Williams, Henry Evan Vincent, Lt., d. of w., 22/5/17.
Winterbourne, Frank Thomas, Capt., drowned, 10/10/18.
Wright, John George William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 11/5/17.

City of London Regiment (Royal Fustmers).
3RD Battalion.

Aberdeen, Louis Frederick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/9/16.

Agius, Richard Victor Joseph Roy, Capt., k. in a., 26/10/17.

Arnold, Leonard Frank Cecil, M.C., Lt., d. of w., 2 1/12/ 19 (alt.

82/Punjabs).
Atkins, Arthur Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.
Austen, Edward John, Lt., k. in a., 21-23/3/18.
Barton, Harry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/3/18.

Be-esl'ord, Percy William, D.S.O., Lt.-Col., d. of w., 26/10/17.
Burgess, Harold Torrence, 2/Lt., k. in a., 2/4/17.
Burrows, William Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/9/16.
Cahill, Alfred Gilbert, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/10/16.
Christmas, Bernard Lovell, Capt., d. of w., 11/5/16.
Clarke, Eric Fitzgerald, Capt., k. in a., 9/4/17.
Crichton, Cyril William Alfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/3/15.
Cummins, Thomas Morris, Lt., died, 7/11/18.
Curtis, Arthur, M.C., Capt., k. in a., 27/8/18.
Davison, Rutherford Willoughby, 2/Lt., d. of w., 10/10/16.
Ferris, Alfred William, 2/Lt., d. of w., 5/3/17.
Fraser, Charles Douglas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/3/18.
Gedge, Cecil Bertie, 2/Lt.,'k. in a., 25/9/15.

THE ROLL OF HONOUR 355

Groves, Robert Harry, M.C., 2/Lt., d. of w., 12/4/17.

Gunn, Walter Roderick Hamilton, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/9/18.

Gunton, Reginald Oliver, 2/Lt., k. in a., 21/3/18.

Haines, Herbert Henry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/5/17-

Hall, Hugh Wilfred, 2/Lt., k. in a., I5/5/I7-

Hard, William Thomas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 23/3/18.

Howard, Francis Stanley, Capt., k. in a., 28/1 1/15.

Howell Arthur Anthony, C.M.G., T.D., Lt.-Col., (T/B.-Gen.), died

x5/i/i8. . o o

Jeffree, Johnson Vivian, 2/Lt., k. m a., 10/8/18.
Jeffries, Thomas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 14/8/17.
Jones, David William Llewellyn, Lt., d. of w., 2/7/16.
Jones, John Llewelyn Thomas, Capt., k. in a., 16/8/17.
Jones, Thomas Capel, Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.
Knight, Edgar Frederick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 28/5/16.
Knott, Stuart Wallace, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/4/18.
Lee, C. P., 2/Lt., k. in a., 22/10/18 (att. R.A.F.).
Lidiard, Richard John Abraham, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16,
Luscombe, Henry, Lt., k. in a., 11/4/17.
Lynch-Staunton, Eric Margrave, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/5/1?-
Mason, Charles Henry, M.C., 2/Lt., d. of w., 10/9/18.
Mathieson, Herbert Gerard, Lt., k. in a., 10/3/15.
Minshull, John Lewis, Capt., k. in a., 2/4/17.
Moorey, William Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.
Morrison, Arnold, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.
Newson, Walter Alexander, Major, died, 1 5/4/1 7.
Odell, Oliver Henry Cecil, 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/9/16.
Oldrey, Montague, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.
Parry, William Norman Maule, 2/Lt., d. of w., 19/8/17 (in German

hands).
Pulman, Harry Robert Sauve, Capt., k., 10/3/15.
Randall, Albert William, 2/Lt., k. in a., 8/8/18.
Ring, Leslie Gordon, Lt., k. in a., 18/9/18.
Rodd, Frederick Trevor, Lt., k. in a., 16/^/17.
Scarlett, Harold Ernest, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 7/9/16.
Sheffield, Ralph David, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/6/17.
Smith, Harold Spencer, 2/Lt., k. in a., 31/7/18 (att- R-A.F.).
Smith, Raymond Alexander, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Starling, Frederick Leslie, 2/Lt., k. in a., 13/9/16.
Stephens, John Lockhart, Lt., k., 10/3/15.
Stuart, Herbert Gordon, Lt., d. of w., 7/3/19-
Taylor, Gilbert Leslie Frederic, Capt., d. of w., 26/8/17.
Thomas, James Leonard, Capt., k., 28/2/17 (an(i R F.C.).
Watts, Leonard, M.M., 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/10/18.
Wharton, Christopher Willis, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.
Whiddett, Horace, 2/Lt., d. of w., 27/8/18.
Wybrants, John Holman, 2/Lt., d. of w., 30/7/18.

City of London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers).
4TH Battalion.

Atterbury, Lewis John Rowley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.
Backler, Alfred Milne, 2/Lt., died, 25/5/18 (R.A.F.).
Blows, Cyril Sydney George, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.
Bottomley, Eric William, Capt., k. in a., 15/6/17.
Bradford, Frederick Reith Campbell, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.
Brodie, Colin James, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.
Brown, Norman Algernon, 2/Lt., died, 1/3/19.
Butcher, Clarence Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17.
Campkin, Reginald Ernest, 2/Lt., k. in a., 28/3/18.

a a 2

356 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Carlisle, Frederick Albert, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 5/9/1 7.

Clarke, Edward Rupert, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/4/17.

Coates, Alan David, Lt., k. in a., 27-28/4/15.

Colomb, George Lushington, Lt., k. in a., 22/1 1/16 (R.F.C.).

Colomb, Mervyn William, 2/Lt., d. of w., 11/5/15 (R.F.C.).

Giles, Eric, Capt., d. of w., 16/7/16.

Goodes, George Leonard, M.C. and Bar, Capt., k. in a., 6/10/16.

Davey, William Henry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.

Davis, Harold Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 4/4/17.

Edkins, Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 29/10/18.

Elliott, John Benjamin George, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Evans, John Baynes, Lt., k. in a., 23/3/18.

Ewing, Gordon Craig, M.C, 2/Lt., k. in a., 20/9/18.

Fanghanel, Frederick Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Foden, Frank Joseph, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.

Garner, Edward Harold, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/8/18.

Geering, Sydney Cecil, 2/Lt., d. of w., 3/5/18 (P. of W., .

Gifford, William Roy, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Hannay, Herbert Thomas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 28/3/18.

Haycraft, Leonard Courtenay, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Hewlett, Harold Alcester Tom, Capt., k. in a., 23/8/18.

Humphrey, William Pryn, 2/Lt., k. in a., 27/5/18.

Hunt, Frederick Frank, 2/Lt. (T/Lt.), k. in a., 27/6/15.

Jones, Harry, Lt., k., 15/5/18.

Langton, Hugh Gordon, 2/Lt., k. in a., 26/10/17.

Leake, George Ernest Arthur, D.S.O., Capt., d. of w., 2/6/17.

Lewis, Charles Edward, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.

Mansbridge, William Kenneth Elliott, 2/Lt., k. in a., 4/10/17.

Mawby, Thomas Henry, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/6/18.

Monk, Ernest William, Capt., k. in a., 29/3/18 (R.F.C.).

Moody, Thomas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/7/16.

Moore, Arthur Robert, M.C, Capt., died, 1/7/16 (in German hands).

Mortleman, Charles Ibbetson, 2/Lt., k. in a., 9/9/16.

Oldrey, Vernon Roy, Lt., k. in a., 31/8/18.

Osborne, William Edward, 2/Lt., d. of w., 11/9/16.

Pratt, Ernest Charles, 2/Lt., k. in a., 14/5/17.

Prince, Victor Charles, M.C, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1/9/18.

Rix, Leslie Gordon, Capt., d. of w., 11/2/17,

Saunders, Charles Robert Edgar, Capt., d. of w., 28/4/15.

Scougall, Douglas Muir, 2/Lt., k. in a., 4/5/17.

Shaw, Thomas Charles Whitehall, 2/Lt., k. in a., 24/8/18.

Smith, Brian Rivers, Capt., k. in a., 8/8/18.

Speyer, Cecil Arthur, 2/Lt., k. in a., 1 6/8/1 7.

Spicer, Eric Evan, Capt., k. in a., 28/3/18.

Stavert, Robert Elliott, Capt., k. in a., 25/8/18.

Stedman, Philip Bertram Kirk, Lt., d. of w., 19/8/16.

Stoaling, Thomas, 2/Lt., k. in a., 14/5/17.

Sylvester, George Harry, 2/Lt., d. of w., 4/11/18.

Taylor, Cecil Meakin, 2/Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Taylor, Herbert Berwick, 2/Lt., k. in a., 31/7/17.

Towse, William Norman, Capt., k. in a., 15/9/16.

Vernon, William Hams, Lt., k. in a., 7/10/16.

Waters, Bernard Stanley, 2/Lt., k. in a., 3/5/17.

Webster, Walter Henry, D.S.O., 2/Lt., k. in a., 10/2/17.

Wheatley, Joseph Horace Lyncham, 2/Lt., k. in a., 15/6/17.

Wreford, Leslie Warren, 2/Lt., k. in a., 16/8/17.

Yeoman, Basil Frank Lawson, 2/Lt., died, 11/5/1S (R.A.F.)

Total . . 1,054

THE ROLL OF HONOUR

357

WARRANT OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND

MEN.

Battalion.

Name of Battalion.

Description

Numbers.

Depot

Royal Fusiliers .

ISt .

II 11

Regular

747

2nd .

II M

11 ■

i,399

3rd .

II II

11 •

765

4th .

II II

1,642

5th .

11 II

Special Reserve

6th .

II II

11 n

7th .

II II

11 11

818

ISt .

II II

Territorial Force

1,667

2nd

II II

11 11

1,279

3rd .

II II

11 11

1,274

4th .

II II

11 11

1. 146

Posted from

other Corps to

ISt .

Royal Fusiliers

n 11

1 /2nd

11 11

'! II

2/2nd

11 11

Jt II

322

3rd .

n 11

II II

146

1 /4th

n 11

II II

2 /4th

11 11

II II

163

8th .

11 11

Service Battalioi

1 . 1,021

9th .

11 tt

11 11

1.333

10th

11 11

728

nth

11 11

979

12th

11 n

n 11

443

13th

11 n

n 11

738

17th

11 11

Empire

519

18th

11 11

Public Schools

19th

11 11

20th

11 11

566

2ISt .

n 11

11 11

22nd

ii 11

Kensington

440

23rd

11 11

Sportsman's

723

24th

ii 11

Recruits .

24th

11 11

Sportsman's

534

25th

11 n

Frontiersmen's

127

26th

11 11

Bankers' .

498

27th

11 11

Training Reserve

N . 4

31st .

11 11

32nd

11 11

32nd

11 11

East Ham.

403

34th

11 11

Labour

35th

11 11

11 * •

36th

11 11

—

37th

11 11

Labour

38th

11 n

39th

II M

Jewish

40th

II II

43rd

II II '

Garrison Battalic

HI . 20

44th

II II '

—

45th

II II

—

46th

II II

—

103rd

II II

Training Reserve

105th

II II

11 11

10th

II II

Intelligence

20,887

358 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

C/3

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<

o
w

Mentioned in

War Office
Communique.

Despatches.

I! S

Egyptian.

Order of the

Nile (i)

Mentioned

in
Despatches.

780

decorations.
Mentioned in

Grecian.
Order of Re-
deemer (2)

Air
Force
Cross.

00 «
N 00 w

ist Bar

to
D.F.C.

M H

Italian.
Crown of Italy

(3)
St. Maurice and

St. Lazarus (4)
Croce di Guerra

(2)

(J
Q

3rd Bar

M.C.

Serbian.

Order of White
Eagle with
Swords (2)

Order of Sacred
Treasure (1)

2nd Bar

M.C.

ist Bar

M.C.

Russian.
Order of St.

Stanislas (2)
Order of St.

Anne (i)

H
u-1

Belgian.

Ordre de la
Couronne (3)

Ordre de Leo-
pold (1)

O.B.E.

2nd Bar

to
D.S.O.

Panama.
Medal of Soli-
daridad, 3rd
Class (2)

ist Bar

to
D.S.O.

D.S.O.

Chinese.
Order of Wen
Hu,4th Class
(1)

C.B.E.

as
0

French.

Ordre du Merite

(1)
Croix de Guerre

(41)
Croix de la Legion
d'Honneur (23)

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Sia"

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to £ IS S

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GENERAL OFFICERS

It would be almost impossible to trace every Royal
Fusilier who was employed extra-regimentally, and if this
could be achieved it is doubtful whether such a catalogue
would be of general interest. After giving the most prominent
names, the author cannot pretend to have done more than
follow the caprice of his material. Where it seemed sufficient
to form at least an outline picture inclusion has been justified ;
where the facts missing were obviously more important than
those available it has seemed better to omit these biographies.

Major-General E. Cooper, C.B., M.V.O., D.S.O., com-
manded the 46th Brigade from August to November, 1914,
when he took over command of the 13th Brigade in France
until February, 1915. Between May, 1915, and September,
1916, he commanded the 2/1 London Division, afterwards the
58th Division, in England. He was later in charge of Section 3,
Portsmouth Defences, and No. 2, Dover Brigade, until January,
1918, when he became the National Service representative at
Paddington.

Major-General C. G. Donald, C.B., went to India on the
outbreak of war in command of the Wessex Division (Terri-
torial Force). In India he was appointed Inspector of Terri-
torials, and on his return, in 1915, was appointed G.O.C.
Reserve Division in the Western Command, England, and
afterwards G.O.C. the Western Reserve Centre. He was
awarded the C.B.E.

Major-General Sir W. B. Hickie went to France in 1914 as
A.Q.M.G. 2nd Army Corps, and was appointed D.A. and
Q.M.G. with rank of brigadier-general during the Mons retreat.
He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade at the battle of the
Aisne, and afterwards the 53rd Infantry Brigade, until pro-
moted in December, 1915, to command 16th (Irish) Division.
He remained in command till this division was broken up in
April, 1918, and took part in all its battles. He was mentioned
six times in despatches, promoted major-general, and received
the K.C.B. and French Croix de Guerre.

360 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

Major-General Sir Sydney Lawford commanded the
22nd Infantry Brigade of the " immortal Seventh Division "
from September, 1914, to September, 1915. With it he took
part in all the engagements of the division from the advance
from Zeebrugge into Belgium to the first battle of Ypres.
General Lawford had some very striking escapes from death
in these days. On one occasion, being in a hurry and on foot,
he borrowed a gunner's horse which he found tied to a tree.
On completing his tour he was galloping past the spot where he
had first found the horse when a shell practically took the
horse's head off without its rider suffering a scratch. The
brigade also took part in the battles of Auber's Ridge and
Festubert, 1915. Promoted temporary major-general in
September, 1915, he proceeded to England, raised and trained
the 41st Division (which contained the 26th and 32nd Battalions
Royal Fusiliers), and took it to France, May 2nd, 1916. The
division captured Flers (September 15th, 1916) ; took part in
another general attack, October 25th to 28th, 1916 ; advanced
nearly 3,300 yards and took the Dammstrasse in the battle of
Messines, 1917 ; co-operated in the battle of Ypres, 1917, near
Hill 60 (July 31st), and at Menin road (September 21st). The
division went to Italy in November, 1917, and on returning to
France in March became involved in the fighting during the
German offensive from March 22nd. After a fortnight's hard
fighting the division was sent to the line covering Ypres, took
part in the general advance, crossing the Lys at Cambrai and
the Scheldt at Kerkove, reaching Grammont on November nth,
1918. The division marched into Germany and held part of the
Cologne bridgehead. General Lawford was awarded the C.B.
in January, 1915 ; the K.C.B. in January, 1918 ; the War
Medal, 1914-19 ; the Victory Medal and Mons Star; the
Order of St. Vladimir, Third Class ; Commandership of the
Legion of Honour and Croix de Guerre ; the Order of Leopold
and the Belgian Croix de Guerre, and the Order of St. Maurice
and Lazarus.

Major-General R. S. May served on the Staff in various
capacities, beginning as G.S.O., third grade, on the lines of
communication. Later on he was appointed deputy quarter-
master-general at G.H.Q. in France. Mentioned in despatches
no less than eight times, he received the C.B., C.M.G., and
D.S.O., and numerous foreign decorations.

Major-General Sir R. Pinney in 1914 and 1915 com-

GENERAL OFFICERS 361

manded the 23rd Infantry Brigade in France, and took part in
the battle of Neuve Chapelle. He was promoted major-general,
and in 1916 commanded the 35th (Bantam) Division ; and
subsequently, from September, 1916, to end of the war, he
commanded the 33rd Division. He was awarded the K.C.B.
and Legion of Honour.

Major-General Sir Charles V. F. Townshend, M.P.,
C.B., D.S.O., took command of the 6th Division in Mesopotamia
in May, 1915. The division had been concentrated for the
advance up the Tigris ; and after defeating the Turks in the
second action of Qurna, May 31st, 1915, he pushed up the river
in H.M.S. Comet to Amara, and received the surrender of the
Turkish force there. On August 1st the division began their
advance against Kut-el-Amara, which was occupied on Sep-
tember 29th, after a brilliant little action extending over two
days. The advance was continued towards Baghdad, and at
Ctesiphon a heavy battle was fought on November 22nd to
24th, after which the division fell back to Kut. On Decem-
ber 7th the town was closely invested, and, despite the attempts
to relieve him, General Townshend had to surrender on
April 29th. He remained a prisoner in Turkish hands until
October 17th, 1918, when he left for Smyrna to initiate peace
pourparlers on behalf of the Turks. He reached Mitylene on
October 20th, and telegraphed a long message to the Foreign
Office. The peace negotiations thus begun were carried to a
successful issue, and General Townshend made his way home.

Brig. -General L. F. Ashburner was present at the Suvla
landing as brigade major of the 34th Brigade, and later on com-
manded the 96th Brigade at Messines. He was five times
mentioned in despatches, and for a time was Inspector of
Infantry in England.

Brig. -General R. Barnett-Barker, D.S.O., assisted in
the organisation and training of the 22nd Royal Fusiliers as
second in command, and went to France as lieutenant-colonel
in command of them at the end of 1915. He was appointed in
November, 1917, to the command of the 3rd Brigade, and in
January, 1918, was transferred to the 99th Brigade. He was
killed in action on March 25th, 1918.

Brig. -General G. K. Cockerill was in command of the 7th
Battalion Royal Fusiliers at the outbreak of war ; but before
the battalion left for France he was moved to the War Office as
Director of Special Intelligence, where he rendered very valu-

362 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

able service. He was awarded the C.B., became a Commander
of the Legion of Honour, and, in addition to Japanese and Rus-
sian orders, he received the Orders of the Crown of Belgium and
Crown of Italy.

Brig.-General T. G. Cope commanded the 176th Infantry
Brigade, and was awarded the C.M.G. and D.S.O.

Brig.-General C. J. Hickie commanded the 7th Infantry
Brigade.

Brig.-General E. T. Le Marchant commanded a brigade
during 1915 and 1916, at first with the temporary rank of
colonel and graded for pay as A.A.G., and later as temporary
brigadier-general in command of the 190th Brigade while they
were devoted to coast defence and draft-finding. In 1917 he was
attached to the Staff in France. He was awarded the C.B.E.

Brig.-General H. Newenham commanded the 2nd
Battalion in the landing at Gallipoli and was severely wounded.
He was later employed in the War Office and in command of
an area. He was awarded the C.B. for his services at Gallipoli.

Brig.-General B. G. Price was a major in the 1st Battalion
R.F. from August, 1914, to April 5th, 1915, when he received the
brevet of lieutenant-colonel and took command of the 7th Bat-
talion Warwickshire Regiment. In July of the same year he was
in command of the 1st Battalion R.F. as lieutenant-colonel until
February 5th, 1916, when he became brigadier-general com-
manding the 150th Infantry Brigade. He took part in all the
battles of his brigade until March 1st, 1918, when he went to
Plymouth and remained there till October 1st, 1918. From
October 20th until the Armistice he commanded the 152nd LB.
in its advance from the Scheldt to Mons. He received the
brevet of colonel, and was awarded the C.B., C.M.G. , D.S.O.,
and several foreign orders.

Brig.-General A. C. Roberts, C.M.G., D.S.O., commanded
the 3rd Battalion in France and Salonika, and was promoted to
a brigade in the latter theatre.

Brig.-General Gordon S. Shephard, D.S.O. , M.C., flew
over to France with the first five squadrons on August 13th,
1914. He received the Legion of Honour from General Joffre
for good reconnaissance work during the retreat from Mons ;
and in January, 1915, he won the Military Cross. He was pro-
moted temporary major and squadron commander R.F.C. on
December 1st, 1914. Subsequently he became brevet major
and brevet lieutenant-colonel, received the D.S.O., and was five

GENERAL OFFICERS 363

times mentioned in despatches. For the last year he was in
command of a brigade of the R.F.C. He was one of the
youngest brigadiers in the army when he was accidentally
killed early in the year 1918.

Brig. -General C. T. Shipley, C.B., commanded the Notts
and Derby (afterwards called 139th) Brigade (T.F.) in the
46th North Midland Division from August 4th, 1914, until
June, 1917 (in France from February, 1915) ; and the 193rd
Brigade at home from August, 1917, until April, 1919. He was
awarded the C.B.

Brig. -General G. A. Stevens, C.M.G., D.S.O., was
adjutant of the 8th Durham Light Infantry (Territorials) ;
went to France with the battalion April 18th, 1915, and served
as adjutant until December 20th, 1915, when he was given
command of the 6th Durham L.I. (T.) with rank of lieutenant-
colonel. On April 25th, 1916, he joined the 8th Canadian
Infantry Brigade as brigade major, with rank of major. On
July 12th, 1916, he joined the 1st Battalion Wiltshire Regiment
in command, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. On July 20th
he became commander of the 2nd R.F. He took over command
of the 90th Infantry Brigade on November 13th, 1917, with the
rank of brigadier-general, retaining this appointment until the
disbandment of the brigade in September, 1919. He was
awarded the D.S.O. January 14th, 1916 ; promoted brevet
lieutenant-colonel January 1st, 1917 ; received the Belgian
Croix de Guerre January 10th, 1919, and the C.M.G. June 3rd,
1919 ; and was six times mentioned in despatches.

Brig.-General W. F. Sweny was in 1915 promoted from
major 4th Battalion R.F. to command the 2nd East Yorkshires.
He was wounded at Hill 60 and again at Turko Farm. On his
return to France he was given command of the 61st Infantry
Brigade ; and in June, 1916, he was again wounded in Ypres
while making a personal reconnaissance. Rejoining again in
1917, he commanded the 72nd Brigade in the fighting at Vimy
Ridge and Messines. After a short rest in England he com-
manded the 41st Infantry Brigade in 1918 during the crossing
of the Lys (when he was awarded the Legion of Honour)
and the crossing of the Scheldt. Seven times mentioned in
despatches, he gained the C.M.G. and D.S.O.

Brig.-General H. A. Walker in 1914 was brigade major
in the Meerut Division, and subsequently commanded the
16th Infantry Brigade until he lost his left arm in action on

364 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

October 16th, 1918. Nine times mentioned in despatches, he
received the C.M.G. and D.S.O.

Brig. -General Hon. R. White raised and commanded the
10th Battalion Royal Fusiliers, was promoted to command the
184th Infantry Brigade in 1916, and retained his command
until March, 1918, when he was severely wounded. Six times
mentioned in despatches, he was awarded the C.B., C.M.G. and
D.S.O. , and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general.

THE BATTLE OF LE CATEAU

We * halted on the near side of Inchy just as it started to
pour with rain, and then, to put the lid on it, we were taken
for outposts. This was the worst da}' we had at all ; for some
time I had been having a job to get along at all, what with my
feet and chafe, and the men were dead beat. However,
D Company were not taken for outposts after all, they were
only in support, so we did get some sleep in. Also I got my
boots off for the first time for six days, and managed to buy a
pair of socks and some boracic powder, after which I was a
new man. At dawn of the 26th we moved back through Inchy
and took up an entrenched position behind it at Cambrai. We
dug trenches frantically for a short time, but there were not
enough tools, and no facilities for overhead cover, and very
little time.

When we had done what we could, the 5 th t relieved us in
the trenches, and we were ordered back in support. By this
time the artillery duel was in full swing. Behind the position
was a little sunken lane running parallel with the position, and
just as we were getting back to this a hail of shell burst right
over the battalion. My platoon was sitting down just by the
lane, and the first shell knocked over five men and punctured
my water bottle. We then doubled about 20 yards into the
lane, where there was a good deal of confusion, and on the
right there was a short panic before the officers got the men
under control. I am glad to say my platoon did not get out of
control at all.

We then lay in the lane all day, quite snug. Pellets of all
sorts whistled over our heads, but down in the lane there was
practically no danger, and we were able to cook and eat a hot
meal. Our guns pounded away hour after hour, and in front
the rifle fire kept going pretty steadily. At about one there
was a lull in the firing, and we all thought we had beaten them
off.

Suddenly they opened a tremendous burst of firing in the

centre of the line, to our right. All their guns seemed to be

* 4th Royal Fusiliers.

j Northumberland Fusiliers.

366 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

concentrated on a village that was there, and about 3.30 the
order came for a general retirement. Then I saw a sight I hope
never to see again. Our line of retreat was down two roads
which converged on a village about a mile behind the position.
Down these roads came a mob. Men from every regiment were
there, guns, riderless horses, limbers packed with wounded,
quite unattended and lying on each other, jolting over ruts, etc.
It was not a rout, only complete confusion. This was the
Germans' chance. One battery of artillery sent forward or
one squadron of cavalry would have turned this rabble into a
complete rout, and the whole army would have been disposed
of and cut up piecemeal. Meanwhile we were the only regiment
I saw in any order. We had not been engaged, and had only
lost 1 officer (Sampson, hit in the stomach) and about 30
men ; we had also had a hot meal, so that we were in good
condition. When the retirement was ordered we went back
in a succession of extended lines, in absolute order, and formed
up behind a farmhouse near where the roads met. Here we
waited in mass, while the rest of the army streamed past. It
was a most trying half-hour. It seemed inevitable that they
would follow up, and then the jam in that village would have
been indescribable. I have since heard that they had sustained
fearful losses, and also a division of French cavalry was covering
our retreat. When the rabble had got past we moved off,
marching at attention, arms sloped, fours dressed, etc., through
the village. By this time the rest of the brigade had formed
up, and we took up a covering position behind the village,
which we hung on to, expecting an attack any moment ; but
it never came, and about 7 p.m. we moved off again, and
marched till 1 a.m. I believe we got a good mark for this show
from Smith-Dorrien and Hamilton. Of course, we had no
reason to lose our formation, but a panic is very catching, and
there is no doubt that at one time we were the only troops who
could have put up any show at all. — Extract from the diary of
Lieutenant Frederick Longman, killed at Herlies, October 18th,
1914.

THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI

We had several reconnaissances by air and sea. I took part
in one on the Queen Elizabeth, which was most interesting, from
Lemnos. We had assembled here transports and fleet, a
splendid sight, and here we practised landing and getting men
into boats, rowing, etc.

On the 23rd, by night, the ships containing the covering
force, i.e., 86th Brigade, consisting of the 2nd Royal Fusiliers,
Royal Dublin Fusiliers, Royal Munster Fusiliers, Lancashire
Fusiliers, and warships, sailed to Tenedos, where we lay on the
24th and completed necessary transfers of men to warships,
etc., etc. Half my battalion and headquarters went on board
H.M.S. Implacable about 7 p.m., from which ship we had been
practising getting into boats, and so on ; the other half-
battalion, under Brandreth, went on board a fleet minesweeper
for the night. At about 10.30 p.m. we all sailed for the
Gallipoli peninsula, arriving there by night. We had a good
breakfast on the Implacable at about 3.30 a.m. We then pro-
ceeded to load up the boats, four rows of six boats each and a
steam pinnace, about 25 to 30 men in a boat besides the six
bluejackets to row when the pinnace cast us off. At 4.45 a.m.
the bombardment by the fleet began, twelve or fourteen
battleships (including the Queen Elizabeth, with 15-inch guns)
all blazing away with all guns possible. You never heard
such a din, but that was nothing to when we landed. About
5.15 we started off in our tows with our mother-ship, the
Implacable, in the middle, like a most majestic eagle and her
brood.

The captain of the Implacable, Lockyer, is a splendid chap.
Indeed, the whole lot are top hole. He had his anchor hanging
with a few feet of spare cable and took his ship right in along
with our boats till the anchor dragged ; it was a very fine
thing to do, and most undoubtedly saved us many losses in
the boats and landing.

All the officers and men of the Implacable were splendid and
most awfully good to us ; they fed the men in the evening, and

368 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

gave them a splendid hot meal at 3.30 a.m., which made all
the difference to them in the bad time that was coming. How-
ever, to continue, while we (W and X Companies) were being
towed towards our beach, called "X," the remaining half-
battalion (i.e., Y and Z Companies), on the minesweeper, were
coming on. They were to come in as far as the vessel could go
and then be landed by the boats in which we were when we
had got on shore. Very soon the ships had to stop firing on the
beaches, and then at once the enemy opened fire, and then
began such an awful carnage as I hope I may never see any-
thing like again.

As regards our half-battalion in the boats, we got off in the
most extraordinary way while getting ashore. I can only put
it down to the way the Implacable plastered the beach at close
range. However, we were to have our bad time later on.

As we were being towed ashore a few rifle shots sang over us
and round us. I think we only lost a few men actually in the
boats. About 100 yards from the shore the launches cast us off,
and we rowed in for all we were worth till the boats grounded,
then jumped into the water, up to chest in some places, waded
ashore, then swarmed up the cliff, nearly perpendicular, but
fortunately soft enough for a good foothold. The cliff was about
100 to 120 feet high. As soon as we got up we came under fire
from front and both flanks. However, we pushed on and got
into one of their trenches. Meantime the other half-battalion
was landing. I then sent one company (X Company), under
Frank Leslie, to the left front, one (W Company) straight on
and to the right front. The fire was very hot from rifles,
machine guns, and shrapnel, and our losses were very heavy
at once. However, it was absolutely necessary to secure a
footing to enable the beach to be used, so we went on. I can
never say enough for the gallantry of the men under these
really trying circumstances, exposed to fire from front and both
flanks and losing heavily. I had instructions to join up with
the Lancashire Fusiliers who were landing at " W " beach
and to capture Tekke hill, so I gave orders to hold on left and
front and took all I could muster (about seven platoons) to
attack Tekke. This we eventually captured with the bayonet
and got a good many prisoners.

To go back a moment, as we were rowing ashore we saw the
Lancashires also rowing under a tremendous fire, one or two
boats adrift with nearly all in them killed or wounded, so I

THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI 369

knew that there would not be many of them ashore. At about
7 or 8 a.m. I got signal communication with brigade west of
Tekke through H.M.S. London, and learned that I was in
command of brigade (General Hare being wounded). I could,
of course, not get there at present. I also got signal communi-
cation with the King's Own Scottish Borderers from " Y "
beach to say that they and Anson Battalion had landed, but
could not join up (they were about three miles north of us).
I also learned by signal later on that the landing on " V "
beach was hung up for the present.

To return, it was more than ever important to capture
Tekke now, so we pushed on and eventually reached the hill,
which was strongly entrenched, with some mined trenches in
front of it. The hill was taken about noon under view of the
Implacable, whose crew cheered us on. I was wounded here,
but managed to carry on for a bit and eventually, with the
help of Crowther, my servant, managed to get into a sort of
gully with some more wounded, where we were more or less
under cover. Shafto then came to me about 3 p.m. and told
me that our centre, which was necessarily very weak, was
falling back. I sent a telephone message to our beach, where the
87th Brigade were now landing, and some time later we got
reinforcements from the Border Regiment. In the meantime
our party were very nearly cut off and captured ; it was a most
unpleasant time. The men made a splendid stand, and we were
reinforced about 4 p.m. I was then obliged to get to the
dressing station. I had had my foot " first-aided," and with
Crowther 's help managed to get to the station, the most
unpleasant journey I ever had.

We lost Frank Leslie, Scudamore, Brickland, C. de Trafford,
killed during the morning, and 12 other officers wounded,
George Guyon shot in the head, Brandreth (slight), Totty had
his arm amputated three times, Winslade shot through thigh,
Daniell broken thigh, Collings shot through chest just above
heart, Hanham right arm (slight), and self.

The tremendous fire of the warships did very little damage
to the enemy's trenches, which were very good and elaborate,
but all stone work was knocked flat.

Our beach was a mass of enormous holes from the fire of
H.M.S. Implacable.

Our brigade was washed out temporarily, as the losses were
so heavy. The remainder of the battalion joined to the Hamp-

F. B B

370 ROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

shires to make one battalion. The Dublins and Munsters were
joined also.

My battalion had lost, killed and wounded, on May ioth,
20 officers and about 800 men.

We hung on during the night, and were attacked five or six
times. — Letter from Lieut. -Colonel H. Newenham from Gallipoli,
April 2jth, 1915.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOOD AT GALLIPOLI

A Great Disaster

It was a dark night in the trenches at Suvla Bay, and
November 26th will long be remembered, and perhaps spoken
of, in years to come. The men had just " stood to," and the
sergeant-major reported " Garrison's correct, sir," when a
terrible clap of thunder, worse than a bombardment of high
explosive, broke the stillness of the night. This was followed
by zigzags of lightning which appeared to split the heavens in
two, and then rain fell as only it can fall in the tropics. Within
half an hour the trenches held a foot of water, rushing so
quickly that it was difficult to stand. At 7 p.m. the barricade
gave way, and a solid wall of water 7 feet high swept into the
trench, carrying everything and everybody before it. By
8 p.m. the flood had reached its height, and the force of the
water had somewhat abated, so that I was able to swim from
a tree to No. 1 Platoon. The men were on the parados of the
trench up to their breasts in water. It was the same with
No. 2 Platoon. Only about nine rifles had been saved. No. 3
Platoon had gathered on a high bit of land, and having no trees
to hang on to, had formed groups and were clinging to each
other. No. 4 Platoon were fighting for their lives, their part
of the line being a maze of trenches, many of which had been
washed away, burying men in the mud and making it very
difficult for the men to retain a footing anywhere.

At 2 a.m. the water began to subside, and the men were set
to work to construct a breastworks behind the trenches. No
tools being available, we had to do this by scooping up handfuls
of earth, and by dawn a resemblance of cover had been formed,
and we found it useful, for the enemy gave us about a dozen
shrapnel. To add to our comforts, it began to freeze hard, and
a snow blizzard came down, and the whole of the place was soon
covered by snow. Many of the survivors of the flood died from
exposure. With the help of the sergeant-major, I counted the
company, and of the 139 only 69 remained. It was soon

B B 2

372 jROYAL FUSILIERS IN THE GREAT WAR

discovered that the ration party had been drowned, and all the
food or drink we had was one gallon jar of rum. This we
issued out, and Private Oldfield, who had swum to head-
quarters, brought up orders that the line was to be held
at all costs. This order was also brought to me by the
adjutant.

During this time — the first night — the cheerfulness of the men
was marvellous. The slightest joke or mishap produced roars
of laughter. By eight o'clock I had a few rifles in working order,
and we were able to return the firing of the Turks. But I gave
the order to cease firing as soon as the enemy ceased, and during
the whole of the 27th very little rifle fire took place. All day
the weather was freezing, and more men died. Towards night
it turned to rain, and it was impossible to move.

At 2 a.m. 28th the commanding officer brought me half a
bottle of whisky and told me that the adjutant and himself
were the only living persons at the battalion headquarters.

At 3.30 a.m. the adjutant brought me two officers to help
me — all my own officers and most of the N.C.O.'s had gone
under — and told me to let the men who could not fight make
their own way to the Red Cross station. I passed the order
on to each platoon and about 30 men left, hardly one of
whom could walk upright, most of them having to crawl
through the mud and water on all fours. I then counted up
and found I had only 27 living souls in the firing line and
only ten rifles in working order.

About 5.30 the order to " retire to brigade headquarters "
came along, and, after waiting for X Company to get clear, the
company started in the following order : No. 1 Platoon,
No. 4, No. 2, No. 3. I stayed with the last four men. We had
hardly gone 30 yards before the first, third and fourth man
were killed, the two first shot through the head and the latter
through the heart. Ten yards further the other man got it,
and as I lifted him to dress his wound the breath rushed out
of his body with an awful sound. I remember falling in the
mud and sticking a bayonet in the ground to help me out, and
the next clear thing was Lieutenant Wilkinson rubbing my
feet and bending my toes. They did hurt. On Tuesday,
30th, the corps commander, Sir Julian Byng, inspected the
battalion, 84 strong, survivors of 661 O.R. and 22 officers.
Poor W Company mustered two, Sergeant-Major Paschall and
myself.

THE FLOOD OF GALLIPOLI 373

W Company.

Total strength

•

• 27

Distribution : —

Effective .

•

. 18

Non-effective

•

• 9

Distribution of effectives : —

Signallers .

•

Sergeants .

•

• 4

Regimental dump*

•

. 10

Other ranks

•

• 3

18—8=10
Robert Gee.

(Captain

Robert

Gee, V.C., M.P.)

* Eight reported i

jnfit.

"No. 8 PLATOON."*
By H. E. Harvey, D.C.M., M.M.

" Presence of mind and courage in distress
Are more than armies to command success."

' Duff, old son, that's my kip, and I'm ' getting down to it '
right now."

Duff looked at the speaker with an annoyed air, but pro-
ceeded to drag his " gear " — full marching order, bomber's
' kosher," rifle, a couple of gas helmets and a blanket — along
the dirty floor of the disused and darkened French brewery at
Hersin, in search of a space yet unclaimed.

The whole battalion was tired and " fed up " with daily
plodding back to the line, and courtesies were scarce.

" Hi ! keep your ugly feet out of that ' possie,' " yelled one
termed " Spud," partaking of a meagre supper — a mass of
jam on a biscuit.

Duff turned slowly and contemplated the youngster in
silence. Then came a shriek and a muffled curse from beneath
another grimy blanket, on which the forlorn bed-seeking Duff
had planted a heavy foot.

He wandered off.

" Say, Vic, can't you shove a bit for your old pal ? " And,
thus finding room, he pulled off his boots, and, after roughly

* This sketch refers to the counter-attack by the 22nd Royal Fusiliers
at Vimy Ridge May 22nd — 23rd, 1916. The salient facts are true, and the
following decorations were given in connection with the episode : —

Distinguished Service Order.

Captain William Archibald Miller, M.B., R.A.M.C, Spec. Res.
(attd. 22nd (S.) Bn. R. Fus.).
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Capt. Miller
followed the front line of our attack over ground swept by shell,
machine-gun and rifle fire. He searched in every direction for
wounded, and gained valuable information regarding the situation.
This he at once communicated, and again continued his search
for wounded. This officer has on previous occasions shown
distinguished gallantry.

Military Cross.

and Lt. Richard Hugo Gregg, 30th Bn. (attd. 22nd (S.) Bn. R. Fus.).

For conspicuous gallantry and initiative. His senior officer

being wounded in attack, 2nd Lt. Gregg took command of the

company, and on reaching the captured trench at once consolidated

VIMY RIDGE, MAY 22ND, 1916 375

arranging his tackle and extinguishing the stump of candle
was, like the majority of B Company, soon sleeping soundly.

The crowded and inhospitable billet, save for snores, was
noisy no longer.

Maybe an hour had passed, when, though few were conscious
of it, heavy feet clambered up the rickety iron staircase outside
the building, and, thrusting aside t

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